Whoever said the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree when it comes to zydeco hasn’t been paying attention to the current state of affairs. Its paradigm continues to shift from its ’90s nouveau base, and the latest from Lil’ Nathan is one of the reasons why. It’s not the amped-up, in-your- face blaster of yesteryear that’s based on hypnotic repetition. Instead, many tunes are slowed down to a breezy, mid-tempo pace. He doesn’t lean on the bluesy scales like the older cats, but changes it up by putting sad songs into major keys and happier ones into minor keys, a reversal of what usually happens in many genres. While some of Nathan’s music theory ideas may escape the average listener, what won’t escape anyone are the two tunes featuring steel guitar ace Richard Comeaux. No matter what radical things he’ll implement, the 22- year-old son of Nathan Williams of Nathan and the Zydeco Cha Chas will never abandon the family legacy. A few tunes are the rollicking, bluesy romps of old that underscore how he holds his own with the best of them.

While he covers all bases—hip-hop for the hipster set, bluesy Creole French sung tunes for the grey hairs—on “That L’Argent (Remix),” he crams it all into an infectious, all-ages dance track featuring friendly neighborhood rapper Tucka. Now, where’s that apple?

—Dan Willging