Organ donor: Quintron's Wild Life Organ
New music in New Orleans, December 2023
reviews by Paul Oswell
Some great music has been released since we last looked at the local scene. Pin back your earholes and dive into the mix:
reviews by Paul Oswell
Some great music has been released since we last looked at the local scene. Pin back your earholes and dive into the mix:
Donyae Asante - HeavenEarth
New Orleans can just about lay one last claim to Donyae Asante as our loss becomes Chicago’s gain. Asante is a multi-talented performer, and lit up city stages with lead roles in productions such as The View Upstairs. His talents could draw comparisons to fellow triple-threat virtuoso Donald Glover - the opening salvo on this, his third album, AmeriKKKa could easily be a companion piece to This is America. Asante draws on a bank of esoteric samples and soundbites to mold a cinematic, socially-aware soundscape. A politically challenging and questioning thread runs through the 12 songs, some plaintive (Behind the Scenes) and some more driven (Dr Luv). Title track HeavenEarth is basically a riff on two chords, but it breathes and expands inventively and magically blossoms. Asante lays waste to easy labels, with elements of gospel, soul, RnB and hip-hop all reined in and adroitly marshaled to create a fresh, inventive musical language. Anger, sorrow, humor and social commentary are all given space, and it’s a strikingly impressive accomplishment.
New Orleans can just about lay one last claim to Donyae Asante as our loss becomes Chicago’s gain. Asante is a multi-talented performer, and lit up city stages with lead roles in productions such as The View Upstairs. His talents could draw comparisons to fellow triple-threat virtuoso Donald Glover - the opening salvo on this, his third album, AmeriKKKa could easily be a companion piece to This is America. Asante draws on a bank of esoteric samples and soundbites to mold a cinematic, socially-aware soundscape. A politically challenging and questioning thread runs through the 12 songs, some plaintive (Behind the Scenes) and some more driven (Dr Luv). Title track HeavenEarth is basically a riff on two chords, but it breathes and expands inventively and magically blossoms. Asante lays waste to easy labels, with elements of gospel, soul, RnB and hip-hop all reined in and adroitly marshaled to create a fresh, inventive musical language. Anger, sorrow, humor and social commentary are all given space, and it’s a strikingly impressive accomplishment.
Joy Clark - Guest
It’s been a glow-up year for singer-songwriter Joy Clark, who’s been playing big rooms (with big names) and landing TV slots and generally just enjoying the (very deserved) fruits of her talents. If you haven’t heard Clark’s music, ‘Guest’ is as good an entry point as any, and it exudes her trademark mellowness, lilting guitar licks and deft lyricism. “I’ve been living like a guest/In my own life” is a feeling we can all relate to, and Clark bills the song as “a reminder to embrace the process, to embrace the messy”. The gentle melodics are embellished with tastefully understated keys, bass and percussion, building up to a cathartic release with Clark’s voice center stage. I don’t mean just her physical voice, but her true voice. This sounds like someone coming into their own. Lovely stuff.
It’s been a glow-up year for singer-songwriter Joy Clark, who’s been playing big rooms (with big names) and landing TV slots and generally just enjoying the (very deserved) fruits of her talents. If you haven’t heard Clark’s music, ‘Guest’ is as good an entry point as any, and it exudes her trademark mellowness, lilting guitar licks and deft lyricism. “I’ve been living like a guest/In my own life” is a feeling we can all relate to, and Clark bills the song as “a reminder to embrace the process, to embrace the messy”. The gentle melodics are embellished with tastefully understated keys, bass and percussion, building up to a cathartic release with Clark’s voice center stage. I don’t mean just her physical voice, but her true voice. This sounds like someone coming into their own. Lovely stuff.
Alexis and the Sanity - Invisible Man
Invisible Man begins with heartfelt balladeering and some serious, as they say in the biz, pipes. I’ve noted before that singer Alexis Marceaux reminds me of the angel-voiced Annie Lennox, and that dynamite vocal dexterity is on display again here, octaves leaped in a single bound. Just when you’re basking in a warm pool of melodic introspection, though, a Gaga-esque disco stomp breaks the tension, and we’re launched into a more urgent second half. Sam Craft’s playful synths, strings and syncopated rhythms frame things as Marceuax’s voice soars to ever more impressive heights (more like Alexis Mar-soar, am I right?) (sorry).
Invisible Man begins with heartfelt balladeering and some serious, as they say in the biz, pipes. I’ve noted before that singer Alexis Marceaux reminds me of the angel-voiced Annie Lennox, and that dynamite vocal dexterity is on display again here, octaves leaped in a single bound. Just when you’re basking in a warm pool of melodic introspection, though, a Gaga-esque disco stomp breaks the tension, and we’re launched into a more urgent second half. Sam Craft’s playful synths, strings and syncopated rhythms frame things as Marceuax’s voice soars to ever more impressive heights (more like Alexis Mar-soar, am I right?) (sorry).
Evan Oberla - ART 4 ALL
Orbala has been mainlining the rich seam of funk that underpins much of New Orleans’ musical traditions. As a musician, he’s been on stage with a diverse selection of big names, from Wyclef Jean to Spoon, and this variety sets up a good foundation for his own songs. Billed as “electric organic soul”, the opening title track sets out Orbala’s groove-forward stall. ART 4 ALL starts with a seductive electric piano before an insistent rock guitar that gives way to a vocal climax that’s an instant singalong. The album meanders tunefully along with an urbane swagger, bossa nova rhythms (Only) and straight up piano ballads (What We Needed) showing off Oberla’s range. Closer Pineapple Juice is a louche, trumpet-tinged ending to this pleasingly eclectic collection.
Orbala has been mainlining the rich seam of funk that underpins much of New Orleans’ musical traditions. As a musician, he’s been on stage with a diverse selection of big names, from Wyclef Jean to Spoon, and this variety sets up a good foundation for his own songs. Billed as “electric organic soul”, the opening title track sets out Orbala’s groove-forward stall. ART 4 ALL starts with a seductive electric piano before an insistent rock guitar that gives way to a vocal climax that’s an instant singalong. The album meanders tunefully along with an urbane swagger, bossa nova rhythms (Only) and straight up piano ballads (What We Needed) showing off Oberla’s range. Closer Pineapple Juice is a louche, trumpet-tinged ending to this pleasingly eclectic collection.
Hurray for the Riff Raff - The Past Is Still Alive
Everyone’s favorite ‘nature punks’ just keep getting better and better, this album seeing them collaborate with a cadre of talents. Anjimile, Conor Oberst, and S.G. Goodman line up to join HftRR’s Alynda Segarra on vocals, and there’s a royal flush of wonderful contributing musicians on display. Opener ‘Alibi' is an accessible blast of folk pop that subverts mainstream expectations with post-modern lyrical deviations such as “I love you very much/And all that other stuff”. Love, and family (both natural and found) all loom large as motifs throughout the album, with love songs like ‘Buffalo’ and ‘Hawkmoon’, and queerness and safe spaces explored in ‘Colossus of the Roads’. Segarra lays herself open with self exploration (‘Alibi’ and ‘Ogallala’) and although there are hardships to confront, as always with HftRR, the sense of bravery and optimism borne out of community and love shine the strongest.
Everyone’s favorite ‘nature punks’ just keep getting better and better, this album seeing them collaborate with a cadre of talents. Anjimile, Conor Oberst, and S.G. Goodman line up to join HftRR’s Alynda Segarra on vocals, and there’s a royal flush of wonderful contributing musicians on display. Opener ‘Alibi' is an accessible blast of folk pop that subverts mainstream expectations with post-modern lyrical deviations such as “I love you very much/And all that other stuff”. Love, and family (both natural and found) all loom large as motifs throughout the album, with love songs like ‘Buffalo’ and ‘Hawkmoon’, and queerness and safe spaces explored in ‘Colossus of the Roads’. Segarra lays herself open with self exploration (‘Alibi’ and ‘Ogallala’) and although there are hardships to confront, as always with HftRR, the sense of bravery and optimism borne out of community and love shine the strongest.
Ephemeral Ponds - Quintron and Miss Pussycat
The title is a wonderful euphemism for the Louisiana swampland that inspired, and which features heavily, on these earthy, organic musical tableaus. Quintron’s love of inventive, home-made instruments is to the fore here, with many sounds recorded on their ‘Wildlife Organ’. This is essentially a set of condenser microphones set up around the swamps and woodlands, set to capture different noises. Quintron lists the sounds captured: “Tree frogs, mockingbirds, carpenter bees, feral hogs, gators, nutria, and even the occasional person or pet dog.” These raw sounds are then ‘musicalized’ with yet more weird and wonderful circuitry. What comes out is an other-worldly sonic exploration, natural noises blending with cheap synths and ambient percussion. It’s unsettling in the most intriguing way, and the track names (‘Breath of a Wild Hog’, ‘Dusky Gopher’s Revenge’ among them) are worth the price of admission alone. Buy a physical copy and your music arrives on a USB stick inside a rubber frog. Q&MP remain some of the most endearing weirdos out there.
The title is a wonderful euphemism for the Louisiana swampland that inspired, and which features heavily, on these earthy, organic musical tableaus. Quintron’s love of inventive, home-made instruments is to the fore here, with many sounds recorded on their ‘Wildlife Organ’. This is essentially a set of condenser microphones set up around the swamps and woodlands, set to capture different noises. Quintron lists the sounds captured: “Tree frogs, mockingbirds, carpenter bees, feral hogs, gators, nutria, and even the occasional person or pet dog.” These raw sounds are then ‘musicalized’ with yet more weird and wonderful circuitry. What comes out is an other-worldly sonic exploration, natural noises blending with cheap synths and ambient percussion. It’s unsettling in the most intriguing way, and the track names (‘Breath of a Wild Hog’, ‘Dusky Gopher’s Revenge’ among them) are worth the price of admission alone. Buy a physical copy and your music arrives on a USB stick inside a rubber frog. Q&MP remain some of the most endearing weirdos out there.