The “gold” in Gold Standard refers to brothers Jake and Matt Gold, respective organist and guitarist of this jazz-soul five piece, and the pun is perfect for the playful nature of these guys, who gig all over town but have taken up a semi-permanent residency at the Mahogany Jazz Hall on Chartres.

There, they usually deliver appropriately funky takes on pop and soul classics, but aside from the (fairly) straight take on Jimmy Cliff’s “Many Rivers to Cross” that ends the album, their debut is all about the originals—instrumentals that balance jam-band danceability with organ and guitar improv.

As a jazz-soul group at heart, they’re thoughtful and moody most of the time, even when deep in a groove. This holds true for the complex moves of the opener “Cold Rails” (Johannesburg native Ngakana Meropa is the percussionist that ties the funkier workouts together), the more traditional “Broad Street,” and the slow gospel uplift of “Polar Vortex,” which can’t help but throw in some sudden off-time shivers just to keep it all popping. (Of these seven cuts, only “Avenger” sounds like a typical plastic beer cup type jam.)

To that end, the Gold Brothers’ dueling leads are the real focus, the kind of coloration that turns a beat into an emotional vibration. That beat, solid as it is, is merely bait. Here’s a thoroughly NOLA bar band that doesn’t ask you to check your brain at the door.