Fort Collins based Crescent City Connection brings New Orleans flavor to the Colorado funk-rock scene with their new album Yeah You Right!
Tracks like the instrumental jam “D’Mina,” and the minor-bluesy “Blue Car,” stay in line with the Colorado-beloved funk-rock aesthetic, featuring a powerful rock organ, scratched rhythm guitar and horn lines all over an upbeat rock groove. This makes them reminiscent of other local groups like Float Like a Buffalo or Graham Good and the Painters, but their niche sound is infused with characteristics popular in Nola Brass and Dixieland traditions.
The group steps out from the rock beat and into a Dixieland shuffle transporting listeners straight onto the streets of the French Quarter on “All on a Mardi Gras Day.” “Iko Iko” continues that same Dixieland feel while including upbeat and bouncy horn melodies that are reminiscent of street band improvisations. Crescent City Connection also throws in some honky-tonk piano in tracks like “Big Chief” and “All on a Mardi Gras Day,” serving as a nicely tied bow to complete their shiny New Orleans package.
But the track that stands out the most is “Cracks in the Sidewalk” because of it’s balanced blend of both the funk-rock and New Orleans sounds, featuring horns and a gospel organ over that rock groove. The grooving organ solo turns up the energy, and the screaming guitar solo that follows matches the intensity and power showing the excitement the band is capable of creating when they truly connect.
