It’s not zydeco, Cajun or even swamp pop but truthfully the acoustic folk-grass music of Lafayette’s Native Sons is as much Southwest Louisiana as any of the aforementioned genres. Individually, they’re hardly strangers to the local parishes. Vocalist Mike Hanisee was the main spice in the seminal Red Beans and Rice; bassist Gary Newman founded the legendary Coteau while lead guitarist Bruce MacDonald played with swamp rockers Rufus Jagneaux as well as Newman’s Coteau along with drummer Danny Kimball.

Collectively, their sophomore effort stands tall against anything from those folksters warbling in the frozen yankee wasteland. There’s a hardy base of strummers and pickers, clean, crisp guitar-fiddle leads and acoustic shade-ins that recalls the best of the ’60s folk revival. Dirk Powell (banjo), Al Berard (mandolin), Sam Broussard (guitar) and Sonny Landreth (slide guitar, dobro) and others all lend a hand, making the CD feel more like a community jam session than anything formal.

Yet, what’s impressive about the Sons is that their songwriting equals their instrumental prowess, a notable feat in that the two facets are not always as balanced in song-oriented units like this. Tunesmiths Hanisee and Kimball supply touching edges that place you in the midst of their creations like “Sweet Orange Groove” or “Louisiana.” “It’s About Time” offers terse lyrical thoughts while the core message stresses the importance of relationships. Hanisee conveys an evangelical, gritty edge about his singing, which renders potency to the song’s emotions. As noted here, Native Sons show that folk music is alive and well in French Louisiana. And from the sounds of it, it belongs there.