Honey Island Swamp Band is a multi-genre band infusing blues, roots rock, country, soul and more to create a sound that will have a little something for everyone to enjoy. Their latest album, “Cane Sugar,” is an experience that makes the listener feel as though he or she is actually in New Orleans. The band mates Chris Mule, Aaron Wilkinson, Sam Price and Garland Paul join Trevor Brooks and producer John Porter (Buddy Guy, B.B. King, etc.) in bringing a great sound to this band’s first national release.
Although this is the first national release for the band, they are definitely of a caliber beyond that. The majority of the band met in 2005 in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Being together for such a long time, Honey Island Swamp Band has an experienced feel with each song. In addition, the group has been extremely busy as of late, touring more than 150 times in 2012 alone. 2012 also turned the group into Grammy winners when they won the Grammys of New Orleans’ Big Easy Award.
The album opens with “Change My Ways,” a song with great harmonies and an extremely smooth bass line. Its intricate drum pattern blends with the song perfectly, giving it a great groove. This song also has a way of keeping a big sound to it. Odds are when one aspect of the song, like vocals, goes quiet; it is instantly replaced in the arrangement with another feature to the song, like a trumpet riff. There are very few moments when the song gets quiet; and when it does, it is only for a split second to bring the next section of the song more emphasis. This quality to the song leads the listener to be delightfully surprised with where the song goes next.
Another standout song, “Miss What I Got,” which features a predominant mandolin on the track with blues guitarist Graham Robinson joining in. This track has some great instrumental runs that blend with the song perfectly. In addition, the chorus’ melody has a way of getting stuck in the listener’s head due to its catchiness.
If you are a fan of Gram Parsons, The Band, Dr. John or Lowell George & Little Feat, then this is a great band to add to your collection. Although the band’s multiple genres make some of the tracks hit or miss with the audience; however, when it hits, it is great!
“Cane Sugar” is available now for purchase digitally and on CD.
