Music
Honey Island Swamp Band, Good to You (Threadhead Records)
Maybe it’s because they formed in San Francisco; or maybe it’s because they seem more like a family than a band; or maybe it’s because of Chris Mulé’s lyrical guitar […]
The Revivalists, Vital Signs (Independent)
There’s a fine line between a jam band and a band that jams. New Orleans’ the Revivalists fall into the latter category. The group burst onto the scene in 2008 […]
Truth Universal, Guerrilla Business (Truth Universal)
Lyricism seems to have all but disappeared from the current state of hip-hop. For Trinidad-born, New Orleans-bred rhymesmith Truth Universal, mastery of the mic lies at the core of his […]
Afroskull, To Obscurity and Beyond (Skull Sound Music)
“This sounds like nothing I ain’t heard before,” keyboardist Matt Iselin howls through the explosive funk and swinging horn brigade of “Waste Management,” the third track—and one of two vocal […]
Blood and Feedback: a SXSW Diary
[OffBeat‘s Aaron LaFont continues his SXSW diary] Day 3: Friday at SXSW – the big day. I arrived downtown sometime in the mid-afternoon. Stop one: bratwurst. Stop two: 6th Street. I think I’m […]
Pizza, Parades and Texting MCs: a SXSW Diary
[OffBeat contributor Aaron LaFont was also at SXSW: here’s the first two days of his diary] Day 1: A sense of utter disbelief soon followed by a somber ache came […]
Mark Weliky Trio, Mark Weliky Trio (Independent)
You can’t judge an album by its artwork. Such holds true for the Mark Weliky Trio’s self-titled debut. In stark contrast from what you’d expect from the carefree, self-assured lads […]
The Way, Half Awake (Independent)
Imagine stumbling into a 4 a.m. jam session between cult icons Captain Beefheart and the B-52s. Preposterous, right? Well, that’s exactly what you’ll get out of New Orleans new wavers […]
Larry Ankrum, Without Reasons (Forasound)
In 2008, saxophonist Larry Ankrum felt the urge to record again. It had been 16 years since the release of his debut album, It Cannot Be Exhausted by Use, and […]
Gov’t Majik, Party Favors (Future Family)
With a name derived from the lyrics of the great Fela Kuti, New Orleans’ Gov’t Majik seeks to infuse the spirit and rhythms of Afrobeat with the ethos of Crescent […]
