Search - Chris Ardoin & Double Clutchin :: Turn the Page

Evidence of Growth

Karl W. Nehring | Ostrander, OH USA | 07/04/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Brothers Chris (still a teenager when this was recorded) and Sean (late 20s) Ardoin are grandsons of Boi Sec Ardoin. Their music is more citified than that of their grandfather, but Chris on accordion and Sean on drums bring the same energy to their electrified zydeco music that their grandfather brings to his acoustic Creole/Cajun stylings. Gon' Be Just Fine was released in 1997, Turn the Page in 1998. Both recordings reveal what happens when young men and women (Tammy Ledet on rubboard) who have grown up in a musical tradition and have spent a lot of time listening to the latest sounds produce when they get their turn in front of the microphone--or I should say, their turn on the bandstand, for the music on these two CDs is first and foremost meant for dancing.



If there is any weakness in what they are doing, in fact, it is because some of the music sometimes sounds like little more than an excuse for getting a dance groove going, or for shouting the phrase "double clutchin'," which is fun every once in a while but gets a little old when it seems to be used in every other song. Clearly, this is a band that is first and foremost a performing band geared toward getting folks in Louisiana and Texas dance halls up on their feet and shaking their chassis to the two-step beat. And even though several of the songs seem better suited to the dance hall than the recording studio, that's not necessarily a bad thing, because there is a way in which these songs have a freshness and spontaneity to them that more careful polishing might have dulled down rather than spiffed up. It is really fun to hear the interplay between the brothers Ardoin, as on the funky cut, "Talk Talk" on Turn the Page. This CD shows evidence of growth in the band's sound, with its extra veneer of rhythmic sophistication."