Under The Influence

New Orleans' most famous, well-traveled, and recorded brass band celebrates its 25th anniversary with its ninth release.

Best known in rock circles for contributions to albums from the Black Crowes, Elvis Costello, and especially Widespread Panic, the hotshot horn men offer few surprises on this disc predominantly comprised of popular Crescent City classics.

But why bother stretching boundaries when their sound remains unique, stimulating, and inspiring?

Guests range from sacred steel guitar master Robert Randolph -- whose soaring, hair-raising solos on three tracks infuse even more goosebumps than the already nail-biting musicianship -- to Dr. John on vocals and piano, and sexy chanteuse Norah Jones gets slinky on the most sensuous version of "Ruler of My Heart" ever recorded.

No matter how often you've heard these tunes, the Dirty Dozen's crackling second-line rhythms, bumping tuba basslines, and uncanny ability to shift from boiling low-down gumbo to cool jazz make the versions here essential listening. "It Ain't Nothin' but a Party," as they say in the appropriately titled opening track.

you'll be aware of Camille through her work with Nouvelle Vague. This is her first solo album.

If you like sultry chanson, you'll love this...

Oi Va Voi have recently released a new album that's getting very good reviews - I thought it prudent to listen to some of their old stuff first. I try to make a habit of working that way where possible.

This is cool. Very eclectic mix of sounds and influences. At it's core you get Jewish klezmer type goodness but it's spiced up with all sorts of other things. Drum and Bass beats for example are used in the vast majority of the tracks. I guess it's basically traditional Jewish music with electronic wizards working the controls. Lots of cool bits of looping and the like.

It surprises me that this doesn't sound more dated, given that it's 5 years old now (in a genre, ethnic/electronica, that's a bit risky for that). Looking forward to sitting down with their latest offering now.

Did you look at the tags? Hip-hop! I know. Not really what I expected, though actually I was prepared to expect the unexpected with Fog... anyway, it's a scratchfest in here.

I think this is Fog's first album. The basic makeup is scratch driven beats (by which I mean often the entire drum line is made some individual scratch samples) with acoustic guitar providing much of the main rhythm. The majority of the solos are a short sample such as a single horn note cut to oblivion and reconstructed to surprisingly melodic effect.

I can see why a fan of the earlier stuff might not be particularly impressed with their last offering. Really original stuff on offer here.

Howzer! This one caught me off guard. The opener (Lightsabre Cocksucking Blues) really sets the tone. Alternative-Rock/Punk-Pop, in the sense that it's catchy as all hell. Bit of an Albini sound about the recordings.

Mike Patton esk vocal moments - I think it's the way he screams when he's losing it - controlled crescendos. Sounds like Ween sometimes too. Great lyrics as well, "The little kid pissed on the big kids porch, He thinks he's amazing he's rubbish of course, But one of those bands got paid I heard, One of those bands got paid"

Reminds me of an old Hawkes Bay band, Big Blue Blanket. I believe that a good song is a good song no matter what style it's played in. There are some people blessed with the ability to write good catchy songs. These guys have that gift and it makes for some of the most enjoyable alternative punk-rock I've ever listened to.

It's funny, it's gotten to the point that when I drag an album into my itunes I really have absolutely no idea what it's going to sound like. I mean, I just purchased this a couple of days ago - clearly it was a considered action - but I have no idea in what context. That's not to say I'm disappointed - I'm not.

The genre stamped on this one is new-age - so far off target with that bit of tagging. Funk/soul/hip-hop spring to mind. Makes me think of Michael Franti/Spearhead. The title track has a Sly Stone inspired pre chorus build up going on.

Basically it's all about the funky breaks.

This reminds me of a lot of different stuff - probably because it's all over the place in terms of style. Don't get me wrong, it's stronger for it - a cohesive work. I imagine that without paying attention it probably sounds like a bit of a jumble of noises - closer inspection reveals some really intricate bits of construction.

Almost feels like Rachels (Systems Layers in particular) done on a budget. It has more variation than that though, bits of post-rock Mogwai-ish elements in there too (see All Our Base Are Belong To Them).

Just listened to Getting The Job Done. I really don't know what to think of this anymore.... though I do know that I like it.

Another top Norwegian score. I was introduced to this by someone from Norway... well actually, not quite this. He gave me copies of The National Bank and BigBang's live acoustic cd. Mind blowing stuff. I only had to hear about 2 seconds of Thomas Dybdahl before I clicked that he was the singer from National Bank - very distinctive voice.

The whole thing just feels so silky smooth. The final production is not unlike that on Rykestraße. My guess is that like Wellington there's a fairly incestuous pool of talent lurking behind a good chunk of the music. Dybdahl won the Spellemannsprisen when he released this one too.

It's a beautiful piece of work.

The general sound is much like it's predecessor, Dog In the Sand. Great pop songs. Simple little hooks that you just can't help but like.

1826 is a stand out upbeat number. One of the more rocky tracks on the album - fitted with a great oscillating drum/guitar riff time signature combo.

Alright. I need to get some Pixies. Believe it or not I've managed to go all these years without ever getting around to listening to them. It was sealed today when someone who's opinion I trust very much said that given a single choice for a desert island disc it would be the Pixies.

OK, what the hell is this? I found it among an emusic folder I had lying around forgotten about. Haha, it sounds like one of those scenes from a romantic comedy. You know, the ones where the couple are wondering around town all sick with love. No sound other than the music - they keep pointing things out to each other.

The song itself is kind of familiar (possibly from romantic comedies). The only conclusion I can come to is that it's a famous song I was reading about and this was the copy I found on EM.