Street Symphony  (Audio CD) 
by The Subdudes

Despite the title of the New Orleans-based Subdudes' previous album, Behind the Levee was recorded pre-Katrina. A lot of water has passed under the bridge--literally and figuratively--since then, which impacts the sound of the band's first post-hurricane release. Although the reformed group's approach has always tempered upbeat material with a darker, more soulful edge, their sixth studio release, Street Symphony, exudes a heightened mood of bittersweet melancholy. Even Steve Amedee's ever-present tambourine seems to be less frisky as the disc unwinds at its own rather subdued (no pun intended) pace. Lead vocalist/songwriter Tommy Malone has seldom sounded more committed, wrapping his dusky voice around a vibrant set of originals with lyrics that occasionally reference New Orleans' most horrific experience. Songs such as "I'm Your Town" ("who's going to save me?") and the deceptively jaunty melody of "Poor Man's Paradise"--the story of an impoverished, homeless man whose appreciation of life's little things, like the music of Fats Domino, gets him through impossibly difficult times--impart a solemn but hopeful acceptance. The "her" in "Thorn in Her Side" refers to the Statue of Liberty, as John Magnie's accordion adds unusual sorrow to Malone's controlled anger. The beautifully bluesy "No Man" is arguably Malone's most revelatory and touching love song, performed with the proud resignation that courses through every track of this heartfelt, thought-provoking, and emotionally moving set. --Hal Horowitz