Cowboy Mouth, Go! (Elm City Music)

Cowboy Mouth, Go!, album cover, OffBeat Magazine, August 2014

The tenth studio album from Cowboy Mouth finds the band in familiar territory, but the CD does offer a couple of tracks that deviate from the norm.

On “My Little Secret,” Casandra Faulconer’s bass line oozes in as Fred LeBlanc sings, “I may not be the sharpest dresser and I ain’t so debonair / but what I lack in couth and tact I make up in savoir faire”—making it clear LeBlanc can handle himself in a number of musical scenarios.

Perhaps the album’s best-executed track, “Mardi Gras by Moonlight” delves into the supernatural with a creeping guitar riff that sounds straight out of a James Bond film. On it, LeBlanc sings, “Here in New Orleans life and death intersect / Pathways from hell into paradise disconnect,” offering perfect vocals to an eerie and haunting track.

Overall, Go! captures what Cowboy Mouth is best at: well-crafted and sometimes raucous songs with a strong vocals from LeBlanc, a powerful rhythm section and memorable guitar riffs. This album sticks to what Cowboy Mouth does best and doesn’t deviate from the band’s strengths—not taking it into any new directions—but Cowboy Mouth has found a recipe for success and no one can fault them for sticking to it.