Corey Arceneaux & The Zydeco Fusion Band – Accordion Man
MoMojo Records – 2026
10 tracks; 38 minutes
Corey Arceneaux is an experienced accordion player with a discography that goes back as far as a debut cassette in 1991! His latest release is very much a family affair as all three of his sons are involved: the eldest, Desmond Joseph, plays bass, youngest son Tyler Arceneaux is on drums, percussion and scrubboard and middle son Corey Jr. co-produced the album with his father and brothers; Joseph ‘Cookie’ Chavis adds electric guitar, Cecil Green keys, Erica Fox B/V’s (and one feature vocal) and Shane Bertrand adds percussion to one cut. Corey wrote nine of the songs, working with Denni Cravins on two, and there is one cover. The album was recorded at Dockside Studio in Maurice, Louisiana with vocal and accordion parts tracked in Fairfax, Virginia. Although the music here is rooted in Louisiana, it appears from his gig list that Corey is based on the East Coast with shows scheduled in Maryland , New York and West Virginia.
“The Intro” opens proceedings with some helicopter noises seemingly indicating the band’s arrival at Dockside Studio. That soon develops into the song’s subtitle, “Pull That Thing”, referencing Corey’s accordion and the zydeco that all his fans want him to play. The title track pounds along, another autobiographical song about the music he plays. “Good Old Days” is a little less frenetic as Corey reminisces about how he started in zydeco and the fun times they all had together, good backing vocals on this one. “Chock-A-Block” refers to how packed the dance floor is at the band’s shows and should be guaranteed to get you moving! Opening with the sound of rain, “When It Comes To You” features Cookie’s rhythm guitar alongside Corey’s accordion on an overtly romantic song: “you are the one that makes my life complete”. The band hits a soulful stride as the non-dancing narrator is taken out on to the floor where “she Taught Me How To Dance”.
Little Walter Jacobs’ “Last Night” is the cover and works well in a slowed-down version in which Corey’s accordion replaces the original harp lines. Erica Fox steps forward to feature on “Louisiana Woman”, starting with what sounds like a vocoder from the 70’s before the song builds up with Corey sharing the vocals, “my Louisiana Woman likes to ride in my truck”. That song is the first of two co-writes with Denni Cravins, immediately followed by the second, “Oh Mon Dieu”, which expresses the hope that things will get better if we all believe in love and peace. To close the album Corey features his son Tyler on the appropriately titled instrumental “Washboard Zydeco”.
Fans of zydeco music and the accordion will find plenty to enjoy on this one.
