Music
Tin Men: Hit it! (Independent)
The Tin Men are all about making daring feats of musicology look easy. Like, how in the world do you go full-throttle P-Funk in a two-thirds acoustic band with no […]
The Continental Drifters: Live at the 2023 Jazz & Heritage Festival (Munck Music)
The Continental Drifters never made a proper live album during their original tenure, and finally got around to it during their reunion at Jazz Fest last spring.
Barrence Whitfield & the Savages: Glory (Folc Records)
It’s been a whopping 40 years since Barrence Whitfield & the Savages were first formed in Boston by a couple garage-rock veterans (who’d just exited local legends the Lyres) and a newly discovered, wailing maniac of a lead singer.
Jack’s Waterfall: Call Dr. John (M.C. Records)
This salute to Dr. John, and to New Orleans R&B as a whole, was put together by Long Island-based pianist Jack Licitra and his crew, all of whom are well-steeped in the tradition (they’ve even subtitled the album as an “American Roots Project”).
The Ladies Of…: Coming Out of Our Tenderness (Independent)
Admittedly I’m not all that familiar with James Hall’s career—which includes numerous solo and band projects over the past 30 years, along with a few years’ residence in New Orleans (and an OffBeat cover, August 1993)—and I’m not a huge fan of rap/rock crossover. So, I clearly wouldn’t be in the target audience for Hall spearheading a new rock/rap crossover project.
Max Bien Kahn: When I Cross it Off (Mashed Potato)
Never underestimate the ability of a good pop song to put a little sunshine into the day. Tuba Skinny member Max Bien Kahn works in that realm when outside of his regular band; on two previous albums (with the ad-hoc band Max & the Martians) he wrote about covid shutdown and romantic breakups, using buoyant pop tunes for reassurance. This official solo album is notably more upbeat and more fully produced; not every lyric is happy but there’s a prevailing sense of good vibes.
Brock Wimberley: Here & Now (MaxiLou)
You might call this an “unplugged” set from an artist who wasn’t very plugged-in in the first place. On his previous three single releases, local songwriter Brock Wimberley did an appealing mix of low-fi pop, backing himself up with skeletal keyboards and percussion. On this EP he strips all the way down, using almost nothing but multiple overdubs of his own voice.
Frenchie Moe: Soul Full Tonight (Independent)
You know you’ve really become a New Orleanian when you write a song called “Gator Bags a Beaver,” especially when that’s a love song. This is the second local release by European blues woman Frenchie Moe, who moved here after working with some of the R&B old guard from the U.K. And it shows she’s really internalized her hometown, with a distinctly funky approach to the blues.
Condition Red: The Red Rockers reunion at Tipitina’s
There’s a bootleg of U2’s show in Chicago 1985, during the U.S. leg of the Unforgettable Fire tour. “I wanna tell you about some special people,” Bono says before the encore. That’s the night’s opening band, New Orleans’ Red Rockers, who he calls out to join them onstage. “These fellas have just reminded us of the good things about being in a group.”
