Diets bring a smörgåsbord of blues and soul on their bite-sized EP Hot Sausage Poboy. The group has grown and changed since the release of their technical debut record Macaroni & Squeeze which was released under a different name in 2019. Pronounced “Deets,” Diets has gone through many name changes since their inception in 2018. Starting out as “Dusty Diets & the Double Down” then to “Dusty Diets” and finally “Diets,” the band has been in the kitchen cooking up a wide spread of jams for this release.

As it turns out, more cooks in the kitchen make for a dynamic record that gives a taste of what the bluesy band can do. Diets mix together a gumbo of country twang, southern rock guitars, old-school organs, and crooning horn lines. Dustin Dietsche, frontman and namesake for the band, brings gruff and twangy vocals in a style that could be described as Dan Auerbach meets Willie Nelson. The rest of the band vary like condiments in the fridge, with members coming from different New Orleans bands such as Chicken & Waffles (jazz trio), Anne Elise Hastings and Her Revolving Cast of Characters (alternative country/rock), and Jank Setup (R&B). “Sweet Thing” features the candied voice of Beach Angel (Kate O’Brien) with a playful sax chirping along to her clever love lyrics. 

Dietsche’s voice is put to the test on “Needy,” a cover of Ariana Grande. The slow-burning guitars light the way for the singer to awkwardly bumble through the pop singer’s melody, but once the band comes up to fill out the track, Dietsche’s voice fits in like Jack in Coke. The horn line on “Needy” not only brings a New Orleans flair to the musical dish, it carries it. As a whole, Hot Sausage Poboy comes across like a tasting board of music to come.