Music
Country Fried, Life Is Fine (Independent)
Country Fried falls somewhere between ’70s country rock and late ’50s folk, especially given the hearty vocals of Brian Ayres, Taylor Garrett and Todd McNulty. Whether it’s lazy shuffles, gospel-like […]
The White Bitch, The White Bitch’s Brass Balls (Independent)
The White Bitch, the brainchild, alter-ego, and band of writer Michael Patrick Welch is one of the most bewildering and obscure creations to come out of the Crescent City. While […]
Louisiana Red, Sweet Blood Call (Fat Possum Records)
I was fine with this until the sort-of title track—“Sweetblood Call,” two words, versus the album title above—and then I couldn’t carry it anymore. That’s the song about sticking a […]
Know One and DamNathan, Soundtrack: The Ballad of Know One & DamNathan (Media Darling Records)
Local progressive rapper Know One and producer DamNathan have shared a 10-year working relationship that helped beget the Media Darling Records indie hip-hop collective. For the last five years, they’ve […]
Big Joe & the Dynaflows, You Can’t Keep a Big Man Down (Severn Records)
Big Joe is a rarity in the blues world. He’s a drummer who doubles as a vocalist. That’s about as rare as a left-handed baseball catcher. His sound is akin […]
Goldman & Guyland, Teaching the Young (Shrimpo Records)
The concept is novel: the seasoned journeyman teaching the budding, young apprentice. But when it comes to accordions, it’s hard to imagine 12-year-old whiz kid Guyland Leday needing any more […]
Various Artists, Louisiana Cajun & Creole Music: The Newport Field Recordings (Rounder Records)
The Newport Folk Foundation played a pivotal role in the resurgence of Cajun-Creole music when its future looked bleak. At the 1964 Newport Folk Festival, a performance by a Cajun […]
Various Artists, Treme: Music from the HBO Original Series, Season One (Geffen Records)
When we heard live music during the first season of HBO’s Treme, we heard the same thing the cast and crew heard when they shot the scene—a live performance. The […]
Delfeayo Marsalis, Sweet Thunder (Troubadour Jass)
Duke Ellington composed music covering an extraordinary range of themes. His 12-song suite Such Sweet Thunder is not among his better-known works, but it is a beautiful and thoughtful piece […]
Ben Kono, Crossings (19/8 Records)
Double reeds have the potential to sound terribly out of place on a jazz record (take Daniel Smith’s dubious Blue Bassoon project), but on Crossings Ben Kono makes a good […]
