Music
Matthew Davidson, Step Up (Magnet Music)
Matthew Davidson is a hell of guitar player. The scrubbed, grinning Shreveport 14-year-old, Ferris Buhler-looker demonstrates on this impeccably produced demo an understanding of tone and pacing, a sense of […]
Au Ras Au Ras, The Great Nothing (Independent)
Au Ras Au Ras’ second album The Great Nothing has an appropriate amount of white space in its songs, giving Tess Brunet (alumnus of Deadboy & the Elephantmen, Generationals and […]
Johnny Angel, More (Deuce Records)
It’s Johnny Angel’s name on the marquee, but the stars of More are really the backing band, particularly Jeff Greenberg’s impeccability at the ivories and Tom Fischer’s tenor sax lines. […]
The Normals, Vacation to Nowhere (Last Laugh Records)
Two extra-musical details: The CD/DVD package for the Normals’ Vacation to Nowhere comes with a set of 3D glasses, and when you pop the disc into iTunes, the genre category […]
Harlan, Night Loop (Independent)
“Sonic wave / You’re favorite noise” croons John Harlan Norris against a massive reverbed twang on “Daffodil,” the first song on Night Loop, the third full-length album for his band […]
Showarama Hot Trio, Showarama Hot Trio (Independent)
The beauty of gypsy jazz is how immediately likeable it is without sacrificing one iota of sonic complexity. New Orleans practitioners the Showarama Hot Trio (Russell Welch and Alessandro Centolanza […]
Beth McKee, Next to Nowhere (Swampgirl Records)
Beth McKee found her audience with 2010’s I’m That Way, a rich, jazz-flecked, soulful album of Bobby Charles tunes—a smart move, given Charles’ deep well of beloved and lesser-known material, […]
Bruce Springsteen, Wrecking Ball (Columbia Records)
A friend of mine likens marriage to a Bruce Springsteen show—goes on too long, the story gets corny after a while, but what enthusiasm after all these years! I feel […]
Louisiana Saturday Night: Fellini and a Cow Skull
OffBeat contributor Alex V. Cook recently finished Louisiana Saturday Night (LSU Press), an exploration of the clubs, bars, roadhouses, dancehalls and holes in the wall that are the homes to […]
Voodoo Experience Highlight: Bobby Rush
Consider the booty jam. A booty jam holds no allegiance to style, propriety or length. A booty jam will go wherever it must to find that booty or lament its […]
