BeauSoleil has long been a band that can be taken for granted. To win Grammys, to become representative of a genre, and to become keepers of a cultural flame can be a blessing and a curse. Because, at the end of the day, it’s all about how the music moves you

Truth be told, I’ve looked forward to Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys more than BeauSoleil, which is a little ass backwards when you consider that it was the latter that helped pave the way for the former. But when it comes to energy, vitality and pure joie de vivre, Steve Riley’s done it for me and BeauSoleil has often underwhelmed me with their reverence. (Can a band be too good at what it does?

Alligator Purse—their first studio album in four years—changes this dynamic, happily so. Not that Cajun music’s great ambassadors haven’t pushed boundaries before, but there’s something a little more kinetic, a little more freewheeling going on here that makes reprisals of such classics as “Théogène Creole” feel more like museum pieces. Hell, it almost rocks, something that eludes BeauSoleil more than it should

Alligator Purse deserves recognition for its varied guest appearances, including Natalie Merchant, John Sebastian and Garth Hudson. But don’t let it distract you from the fact that BeauSoleil is fully in command of the work here

How else could you explain the magic of a song like “Rouler et Tourner”, a French-language cover of Bob Dylan’s version of Muddy Waters’ “Rollin’ and Tumblin’.” You’d think something might get lost in so many translations, but the chugging tempo and the energetic interplay of Michael Doucet’s fiddle and brother David’s guitar feels part duel, part harmonic convergence. Michael practically growls the words, too, another indication that this time around, BeauSoleil isn’t just playing around; it’s getting right to the heart of the matter. That’s pretty moving.