Dennis Stroughmatt & Creole Stomp, Creole Stranger (Maison de Soul)

Other than his Teutonic bloodlines and Midwest upbringing, Dennis Stroughmatt is as Creole as they come. While that’s a tongue-in-cheek remark in itself, Stroughmatt’s heady credentials include a curator stint at Lafayette’s Vermillionville and countless gigs with mainstays Hadley Castille, Sheryl Cormier, the Lucky Playboys and father-and-son duo Morris and Dexter Ardoin. Stroughmatt’s odyssey not only resulted in his emergence as a Louisiana French music master but also fluency in its native tongue. Given that the proceedings are predicated on strong choices like “Madame Faielle” and “Lake Charles Two Step,” it’s safe to say that the Stroughmatt’s Creole-esque sound falls somewhere between the Ardoin family and the Lawtell Playboys. Although Stroughmatt pumps a crunchy style Creole accordion (“Eunice Two Step”), his forte lies in Creole fiddling, a driving demon teeming with influences from Calvin Carrière, Faren Serrette, Black Allemand and Canray Fontenot. But regardless of a tune’s source, there’s usually an element, a turn or a call-and-response pattern, that casts a Creole identity, as evidenced on Nathan Abshire’s “Bayou Teche Blues.” Zydeco numbers “It’s Not The Pain,” an Ardoin family staple, and Boozoo’s “Suzy Q” boast plenty of boom and clang that’s analogous to hearing the drums above all else when you initially enter the dancehall. His own originals, the bluesy-boppin’ “Morris Ardoin Blues” and the title song that recalls the haunting textures of the Mamou Playboys’ “La Toussaint,” clear the bar as well. Yet the surprises hardly stop there. Stroughmatt’s actually a triple-pronged threat when you factor in his commanding vocals that squeeze the soul of a ballad, such as Clifton Chenier’s “I’m Coming Home.” Dennis Stroughmatt doesn’t just have the package—he is the package.