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This time around it's an examination of the emotions of creole slave poetry with a crafty mix of fevered accordion, massive electric guitars, meticulously meshed fiddles, drum loops and sampled bits of black plantation singing from the dirty `30s. While much of the album is built on a strong traditional backbone, only the two lead-in tracks come across as otherwise standard Cajun music - the exuberant Creole Stomp and the tipsy Big Boy Waltz. There's Cajun country, Cajun pop and Cajun boogie. And in the hands of Riley and company it's large fun, a seductive adventure that rocks with the power of a Who concert and dazzles with the grace of a ballerina. From there it's a French language free fall built on slabs of psychedelic swamp rock (Seems To Me, Patoutville, Big John, Heat Lightning)and glimpses at a warped waltz (My Children), a diabolic ballad (The Vigilantes) and rocking two-steppers (Starvation 2-Step, Poche Bridge) - quite enough to make most music lovers sit up and listen. But Riley and the Mamou Playboys remain the sole merchants of Cajun prog rock - a style which has these southern Louisiana musicians filling dancehalls in their home state and selling out concerts around the world. Happytown, their eighth album, is yet another alt-world offering of the band's brash fusion of traditional roots with 21st century sensibilities.
It's not an "easy" record and I wouldn't recommend it for the casual Cajun listener but for those of us who lap this stuff up like dark brown gumbo, it's one of the best. I have all the CD's from this group and at first I wasn't sure I liked HappyTown. It's pretty cool to see a review here by Peter Schwarz, former drummer for the band - a very talented guy himself. I have to agree with Peter that this is a complex record.
Wow. I read the reviews, downloaded a few samples, ordered the CD, can't stop playing it. If all CDs were just this good. I like the music out of Louisiana, know little, sample around, trying to learn. This CD was one of the recs for me from amazon.
This CD has been "stuck" in my player since I bought it. This all sounds a little heavy but trust me - these guys are great fun. This is a great band. From the bouncy, joyful dance tunes to the atmospheric almost eerie emotions of other songs; it proves this band is packed with talent and the ability to wed new sounds and ideas with traditional Cajun music. Buy this CD - you won't be disappointed. Over the years that I have been going to see them live, and in listening to their CD's, I have realized the depth and range of their impressive talents. Happytown is a layered composite of songs that reveals its excellence with each listening.
4) If you like this record, it means that you get the power of rhythm, that you are fascinated by unique regional musics, that you believe there is excellent music outside of the mainstream music industry, that you are not stuck on nostalgic musical re-hashings, that you demand the highest sonic quality and production, and that you are respected by your friends as having great taste in music. 3) This is a deep record that gets more fascinating with each listen. The more familiar you get, the more you will appreciate these guys. Do you get it yet. This is the self-expression of forward-looking musicians who deeply respect their heritage. I'm biased because I was on the inside for seven years.
Think of it this way: if this were wine it would be the $100 bottle. At times you may want to dance, but it is a complex journey of mood and emotion. But I can give you a basic idea: 1) Unless you've spent a lot of time listening, it is hard to tell the difference between good and mediocre bands in Cajun music. It is not tourism. Of course, as I said, I'm biased. After 12 years, this band is still the best and getting better (always the critics choice).
2) You won't hear any accordions slapped on covers of rock-n-roll, or lyrics laden with alligators, crawfish, bayou moon and fais do do or blue fiddles.
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