New Music From New Orleans: July 2025
New Music From New Orleans: July 2025
It's a largely celebratory selection of new music from the city this month. Let's dive into it - links to listen as you read accompany each review. (Do you create music in New Orleans? Send us links to your new releases - outalldaynola [at] gmail [dot] com)
Reviews by Paul Oswell
Reviews by Paul Oswell
Good Use
Hero Magnus
Summer weather too oppressive? Lighten things up with this feelgood breeze of instantly hummable, sweet-as-strawberry-ice cream, elevated pop. It’s a slice of sweet, self-affirming sentiment, an impish invitation to admire your own worth. “Who do you see? / Me looking pristine, that's right I'm fit for the Sistine” is a gloriously cheeky lyrical flourish as Hero Magnus (now of Brooklyn but until recently of New Orleans) flirts shamelessly, with sweetly subtle variation on the verses to effortlessly lift the tune and the mood above the everyday. It’s an irresistibly melodic, fun and witty ride, and one you’ll want to take again immediately. In the liner notes, HM advises the listener to send this song to their girlfriend, but honestly, this is a gift that anyone would be tickled to receive, and I guarantee they'll be humming it to themselves all day long.
Hero Magnus
Summer weather too oppressive? Lighten things up with this feelgood breeze of instantly hummable, sweet-as-strawberry-ice cream, elevated pop. It’s a slice of sweet, self-affirming sentiment, an impish invitation to admire your own worth. “Who do you see? / Me looking pristine, that's right I'm fit for the Sistine” is a gloriously cheeky lyrical flourish as Hero Magnus (now of Brooklyn but until recently of New Orleans) flirts shamelessly, with sweetly subtle variation on the verses to effortlessly lift the tune and the mood above the everyday. It’s an irresistibly melodic, fun and witty ride, and one you’ll want to take again immediately. In the liner notes, HM advises the listener to send this song to their girlfriend, but honestly, this is a gift that anyone would be tickled to receive, and I guarantee they'll be humming it to themselves all day long.
Whatever
Jeffery Broussard & The Nighttime Syndicate
OK, so this is kind of a delightful new genre that I hadn’t heard before. I’m going to land on…RnB-Zydeco-Neo Soul? Broussard lets his horn and rhythm sections drive the energy on this opening to their album ‘Bayou Moonlight’ and - on this track, at least - it adds a seductive new dimension to this musical tradition. Broussard’s accordion is in up there in the mix, but it’s more of a harmonious team player than an insistent lead, and it’s a much more alluring sound (to this reviewer, who is something of a zydeco ignoramus). The album showcases a versatility to Cajun music that only real mastery can deliver - do yourself a huge favor and also check out their impeccably-arranged cover of Sam Cooke’s ‘A Change Is Gonna Come’ on the same release. Incredible work.
Jeffery Broussard & The Nighttime Syndicate
OK, so this is kind of a delightful new genre that I hadn’t heard before. I’m going to land on…RnB-Zydeco-Neo Soul? Broussard lets his horn and rhythm sections drive the energy on this opening to their album ‘Bayou Moonlight’ and - on this track, at least - it adds a seductive new dimension to this musical tradition. Broussard’s accordion is in up there in the mix, but it’s more of a harmonious team player than an insistent lead, and it’s a much more alluring sound (to this reviewer, who is something of a zydeco ignoramus). The album showcases a versatility to Cajun music that only real mastery can deliver - do yourself a huge favor and also check out their impeccably-arranged cover of Sam Cooke’s ‘A Change Is Gonna Come’ on the same release. Incredible work.
Canal Street Revolution
Evan Oberla
This is the title track from a concept album of the same name about the civil rights movement in the 1960s, via the lens of Canal Street. Multi-instrumentalist Oberla began with interviews of New Orleans historians, poets and musicians, including Dr. Raphael Cassimere, Jr., Abe Thompson, and Carl LeBlanc, who spoke on first-person experiences of the sit-ins and the culture of New Orleans from the 60s onward. It’s a heavy subject, but this anthem is confrontationally energetic and optimistic. “Canal Street was part of a grounding I had, in understanding that no struggle is straight,” goes the spoken word intro by activist Kalamu ya Salaam, before we dive headlong into a rousing, brass-backed but gold-plated R&B groove. “Canal Street keeps turning and turning/Constant like the sun” sings Oberla over the disarmingly jaunty piano refrain. There’s been darkness, but maybe the light is winning. Let this song be your gateway into this wonderful, collaborative album.
Evan Oberla
This is the title track from a concept album of the same name about the civil rights movement in the 1960s, via the lens of Canal Street. Multi-instrumentalist Oberla began with interviews of New Orleans historians, poets and musicians, including Dr. Raphael Cassimere, Jr., Abe Thompson, and Carl LeBlanc, who spoke on first-person experiences of the sit-ins and the culture of New Orleans from the 60s onward. It’s a heavy subject, but this anthem is confrontationally energetic and optimistic. “Canal Street was part of a grounding I had, in understanding that no struggle is straight,” goes the spoken word intro by activist Kalamu ya Salaam, before we dive headlong into a rousing, brass-backed but gold-plated R&B groove. “Canal Street keeps turning and turning/Constant like the sun” sings Oberla over the disarmingly jaunty piano refrain. There’s been darkness, but maybe the light is winning. Let this song be your gateway into this wonderful, collaborative album.
August Nights
Sweet Magnolia
Lore has it that this brassy bop was written “in the midst of a hurricane”, but it’s not a tale of danger. It’s more of a reflection, albeit a grippingly catchy one, of two camp counselors that fall in love, but have to return to their regular lives at the end of the season. That is to say, the maelstrom is emotional as well as meteorological. Funky tubas and light, almost reggae-flavored pop horns lead us into wistful memories: “August nights/July mornings/September comes/Without a warning”. The music doesn’t get doleful, though - try not to be sad that it ended, be joyful that it happened. Advice that’s much easier to follow when you’re being energized by a tune that will perk you up when the storm clouds gather.
Sweet Magnolia
Lore has it that this brassy bop was written “in the midst of a hurricane”, but it’s not a tale of danger. It’s more of a reflection, albeit a grippingly catchy one, of two camp counselors that fall in love, but have to return to their regular lives at the end of the season. That is to say, the maelstrom is emotional as well as meteorological. Funky tubas and light, almost reggae-flavored pop horns lead us into wistful memories: “August nights/July mornings/September comes/Without a warning”. The music doesn’t get doleful, though - try not to be sad that it ended, be joyful that it happened. Advice that’s much easier to follow when you’re being energized by a tune that will perk you up when the storm clouds gather.
Death in Space (2025 reissue)
Quintron
This experimental astro-pop comes from a collection of songs that were mostly recorded in the mid 90s as soundtrack material for the science fiction film, “Mirza the Miraculous”, directed by Brent Joseph. It’s the kind of fuzzy, buzzy atmospherics that Quintron excels at, the sounds of loose wiring and fizzing electronica incorporated into the vision. The opening ambient soundscape eventually gives way to an almost krautrock-like beat before new-wave synths and a passing vibraphone chime in. Nature may abhor a vacuum, but that’s the kind of environment that Quintron loves to play in, filling it out with sonically unbound, lo-fi creativity.
Quintron
This experimental astro-pop comes from a collection of songs that were mostly recorded in the mid 90s as soundtrack material for the science fiction film, “Mirza the Miraculous”, directed by Brent Joseph. It’s the kind of fuzzy, buzzy atmospherics that Quintron excels at, the sounds of loose wiring and fizzing electronica incorporated into the vision. The opening ambient soundscape eventually gives way to an almost krautrock-like beat before new-wave synths and a passing vibraphone chime in. Nature may abhor a vacuum, but that’s the kind of environment that Quintron loves to play in, filling it out with sonically unbound, lo-fi creativity.
House of Direction: Film Soundtrack
Neal Todten & The Tanz Orkestra
So this was recorded at the Marigny Opera House in 2023 and officially released in 2024, but Neal Todten recently performed these compositions live in the city, and I’m just seeing it on Bandcamp in 2025, so it’s getting some coverage. Direct any complaints to the Out All Day legal department (which is also me). House of Direction is an experimental film by Todten and A. Hennen Payne that explores minimalist music composition in a two-way, audio-visual collaboration. I’m a huge fan of minimalist music, and Todten - as well as composing and arranging his own work - has staged excellent local performances of noted composers within the genre, such as Steve Reich and Terry Riley. As such, I’m perhaps primed to love this, but I coincidentally also just do. Even without the intended visuals, you can just immerse yourself in a beautiful sonic world - the 6-minute ‘Organ Direction Improvisation’ especially feels (to me) like, I don’t know, a cleansing, or an aural baptism. Meditation for K.T. is more structured, and the gradual unfurling of horns over a lush, hypnotic piano phrase is another highlight. Open yourself up, and just relish this sublime adventure.
Neal Todten & The Tanz Orkestra
So this was recorded at the Marigny Opera House in 2023 and officially released in 2024, but Neal Todten recently performed these compositions live in the city, and I’m just seeing it on Bandcamp in 2025, so it’s getting some coverage. Direct any complaints to the Out All Day legal department (which is also me). House of Direction is an experimental film by Todten and A. Hennen Payne that explores minimalist music composition in a two-way, audio-visual collaboration. I’m a huge fan of minimalist music, and Todten - as well as composing and arranging his own work - has staged excellent local performances of noted composers within the genre, such as Steve Reich and Terry Riley. As such, I’m perhaps primed to love this, but I coincidentally also just do. Even without the intended visuals, you can just immerse yourself in a beautiful sonic world - the 6-minute ‘Organ Direction Improvisation’ especially feels (to me) like, I don’t know, a cleansing, or an aural baptism. Meditation for K.T. is more structured, and the gradual unfurling of horns over a lush, hypnotic piano phrase is another highlight. Open yourself up, and just relish this sublime adventure.
BIO GIRL
Drugstore Lipstick
Talking of movies, this feels like a track from the soundtrack to the greatest, dark 80s movie never made. It is, in fact, a part of a full-length concept album that took almost half a decade to create. It was time well spent if this track is anything to go by. The retro pop synths, combined with the New Romantic-tinged vocals of lead singer Slade Warnken (a cinematic name if ever there was one) are evocative of longing-fuelled, neon-lit drives along seedy downtown streets (complimentary).
Drugstore Lipstick
Talking of movies, this feels like a track from the soundtrack to the greatest, dark 80s movie never made. It is, in fact, a part of a full-length concept album that took almost half a decade to create. It was time well spent if this track is anything to go by. The retro pop synths, combined with the New Romantic-tinged vocals of lead singer Slade Warnken (a cinematic name if ever there was one) are evocative of longing-fuelled, neon-lit drives along seedy downtown streets (complimentary).