DeVille, a Crescent City resident since the early ’90s, goes deep into the city’s musical history and mythology. Tribal rhythms fuel “Chieva”‘s twisted romance with “the needle and spoon”, and the funereal title track is dedicated to the late great arranger, DeVille collaborator and deeply troubled soul Jack Nitzsche.
Elsewhere, DeVille continues to excel at conjuring new tricks from old genres?Drifters-scented barrio pop, booming melodrama and accordion-laced trysts are rendered with verve and sensitivity. An ill-conceived Tom Waits/Captain Beefheart-style Muddy Waters tribute and the dreary “Slave To Love” apart, a welcome slice of swamp-pop heaven.
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