Cajun musician Chris Miller knocks it out of this park on this 18-track/8 originals affair that’s primarily rooted in the classic dancehall sounds of Aldus Roger and Joe Bonsall. Unexpectedly discovering a studio drum set’s vintage sound was the turning point; playing string-muting barre chords on an acoustic guitar added a thick, throbbing bottom end to solidify the rhythms without an electric bass. Due to scheduling conflicts with his Bayou Roots bandmates, the Lake Charles multi-instrumentalist recorded most of this himself with just a few guests—like Laine Thibodeaux, whose steel guitar gives the title track a delightful Western Swing crawfish flavor.

The most ingenious selection is the translated rendition of Jimmy C. Newman’s “Cry, Cry Darling” as “Braille, braille, cherie.” It’s the song that launched Newman to Nashville in ’54 but amazingly was never reverse-engineered into Cajun music until now.

Killer tracks are everywhere. The exhilarating, reed-crunching “Crowley Two-Step” artfully downshifts into a heavenly fiddle-led melody of “La Valse Duralde” where Miller, coincidentally, nails his most emotive singing of the album.

The last half rocks with surprises. There’s a solo accordion Quebecois-style as well as an accordion duet with Tim Broussard where both play in different keys, yet meld seamlessly together. There’s also a polka, a mazurka original and updated lyrics to “Jolie Blond.”  The home recording of Miller and legendary nonagenarian Milton Vanicor playing “The 99 Year Waltz” is absolutely hair-curling and a reminder that this strand of Cajun music has just about disappeared. Highly recommended; don’t miss the document download of translations and explanations on bayouroots.com.