L'Echo

On its last few albums, the Louisiana band BeauSoleil has pushed Cajun music into adventurous new territory, absorbing zydeco, rock and Caribbean influences into the tradition and adding striking new compositions by bandleader Michael Doucet. These explorations seem like organic outgrowths of the music rather than extraneous accessories because the group has never lost touch with its Cajun roots. To reinforce that connection between past and present, the musicians of BeauSoleil have devoted L'Echo to 15 songs which influenced them as they grew up. The result is a recording which emphasizes the country-Cajun side of BeauSoleil's music as never before. --Geoffrey Himes