The Mallett Brothers Band – Viva L’Acadie
Self Released – 15 June 2018
Viva L’Acadie, the new album by The Mallett Brothers Band is a whiskey-soaked old-time Acadian hoedown and everyone’s invited. It’s also a love story to a region and a people – a fading culture caught up in the homogeneity of modern life.
The Maine based band, formed in 2009 and anchored by brothers Luke and Will Mallett, has developed a decent following gigging regularly around the States. I’d describe their sound as amped-up front porch/back porch music, inspired by the Northeast woods from where they hail. It’s a classic Americana blend, featuring spirited lyrics, and a mix of country, rock, strings and twang – with a little attitude thrown in.
L’Acadie refers to a region of Eastern North America that includes modern-day Nova Scotia, the Canadian Maritimes, and parts of northern Maine (US). The original settlers were expelled and scattered in 1755 as chronicled in the Band tune Acadian Driftwood. Many “drifted down to New Orleans,” and surrounding areas and their descendants are steeped in Cajun culture.
The fiddle-driven title song Viva L’Acadie is a tribute to the spirit that has spawned such literary giants as … “de Tocqueville, Thoreau, Jack Kerouac and Montesquieu” as well as “Evangeline, the coast, poutine and the toast.”
“Long live l’humanite/Long live the song/
Long live the drinkin’ and the dancin’ on the lawn/
Long live those French-Canadian girls/and that French-Canadian music.”
The anthem ready song typifies the unique texture of this region. There are more pensive moments on the album as well.
Getting’ Back, is a requiem to a small town, a common theme in American songwriting, and essential for this album. It partners well with Too Much Trouble, a song about the darker side of town, and the excess often found there. “There’s too much trouble in this town/too much whiskey in this glass/too many cymbals on the overpass.”
Indeed, the references to whiskey on this album might set a record –their drink of choice is mentioned in almost half the songs, not always in a positive light.
Good as it Gets is a straight-ahead rocker that expands the “hard drinking/hard living” theme a little further: “Some like the whiskey, some like the wine/ Some like whatever’s on the table at the time.”
The theme continues with Losin’ Horses, is a gloomy old country tune that features some fine songwriting.
“Cause you keep bettin’ on the losin’ horses/Gettin’ drawn by all them mystic needs
Gettin’ thrown by the confusing forces/And you keep bettin’ on the losin’ steeds”
Onawa tells the story of an oft-forgotten 1919 train wreck that took 23 lives in rural Maine. The Montreal bound train was full of a “whole bunch of poor folks… English and Scottish newcomers from over the sea.” Despite the lyrics, it’s a pleasing tune that barrels along like a train in high gear toward its fateful destination.
The album closer, Headed Home starts as a slow rocker, but builds with a screaming guitar solo and an over the top jam that undoubtedly sounds great live.
With a serious underlying message of displacement and suffering, “Viva L’Acadie” maintains a positive outlook. It Showcases a band on the rise, and it’s a reminder that even when things look bleak, there’s always something to celebrate.
http://www.mallettbrothersband.com/