ALBUM REVIEWS - PILETTE BREAKDOWN

New Orleans, LA, Dan Willging, November 2003 Lost Bayou Ramblers - Pilette Breakdown - Swallow Records Within an incredibly short time, Cajun traditionalists Lost Bayou Ramblers have not only curried the favor of their hometown Lafayette but sparked a buzz on both coasts as well as in the Rocky Mountains. When Swallow Records' label magnate Floyd Soileau heard the Ramblers' self-produced debut Un Tit 'Gout, he inquired about repackaging it with a few new tunes. But somewhere along the line, the project assumed a life of its own as the Ramblers churned out eight new tunes and two live cuts that complement 'Gout's surviving five selections remarkably well. Propelled by Chris Courville's brush-brush-boom-boom bouncy rhythmic attack, the Ramblers' earthy organic sound unpretentiously harkens back to Cajun music's earliest recorded beginnings. Louis Michot has a pronounced Creole-esque flair about his unvarnished fiddling; accordionist/bro André isn't afraid to throw in a few offsetting bassy honkers either, giving the proceedings a feasting funky favor. There's no steel guitar, electric bass or rippin' rock guitar solos to signal anything modern, nor any overdubs to smooth out jagged edges. Rather, everything here is exactly as it happened at the family's bayou camp, which translates as another beautifully, honest record in the Michot tradition. Of the new cache, the tunes straddle between breakneck stompers ("Melville 2-Step," "Pilette Breakdown") and seducing waltzes ("Tu Peut Cogner"). Besides staying true to the "bal de maison" acoustic style, the Ramblers also visit the '30s string band era with a driving original, "Border Blues," and a rendition of Harry Choates' "Louisiana Boogie Woogie," an insane swing live cut. With their second record in hand, guaranteed, the scrambling Ramblers have just sauntered in with one of this year's most impressive releases.

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