Tex-Mex/Zydeco/cowpunk/roadhouse-blues-driven Smyrna quintet Los Swamp Monsters hopped on the scene with its 2014 debut, bringing a Louisiana punk sound as they kick in the door to your mule stall or turn out a punk room with accordions. Ever since, the group has been touring in and out of the area with gusto, growing an ever-evolving catalog, crafting new songs and perfecting established ones, while producing live recordings—including a series of releases out of Texas.
This ultimately led to a jump to Muscle Shoals to lay down the fruit of all this work at the Southern rock mecca FAME (Florence Alabama Music Enterprises) Studios. According to Los Swamp Monsters, it’s likely “the first band to bring bajo sexto, rubboard and accordion in FAME” during these recording sessions at the historic Alabama studio, a collection released in August 2024 as From San Antone to Muscle Shoals.
The album opens with a metal feel until frontman C.J. Benoit’s gritty voice takes us on a Seger/Cocker rasp through a heartbroken man’s blues on “Tornado Alley Sunday,” possibly also the name of Dennis Derevenko’s saxophone, as its out-of-the-gates sax solo smashes a stool against the bar, accompanied by a properly amplified electric punch.
The well-covered country and roots chestnut “(Is Anybody Going to) San Antone?” is a celebratory example of the band’s style of party-blastin’ the accordion in a way that can get a dive bar moving raucously.
Borderlining on a whimsical Benny Hill chase scene with the sax, “Hot Sauce (Conjunto Style)” whips up a freight train blues, with more Joe Cocker-like rasp from Benoit and rollicking sax work, capped by a well-placed bonus nod to the Allman Brothers Band’s classic “Whipping Post” in the singalong outro.
The album’s punk doo-wop ballad, Freddy Fender’s seminal swamp/Tex-Mex hybrid “Wasted Days and Wasted Nights,” passionately presents Benoit’s bilingual ability, alternating Spanish and English. Wait, it’s a trilingual album, as lead guitarist Wes “Rooster” Covington showcases his French skills on the upbeat punk-meets-bayou treatment of Cajun classic “Jolie Blon’.”
From San Antone to Muscle Shoals’ single should be the Monsters’ cover of the Willie Nelson/Ray Charles 1984 country hit “Seven Spanish Angels,” delivering a gospel feel with the Wurlitzer electric piano, until the accordion and sax jam to a softly rocking rhythm accompaniment, mish-mashing all of the distinct Americana elements, languages and highly versatile instrumentation that make Los Swamp Monsters stand out while simultaneously mixing in with the rest of the goodness found around here.
From San Antone to Muscle Shoals is a great idea with its instrumental versatility, capturing the energetic appeal of Los Swamp Monsters’ live shows, which can bring a house down.
Find From San Antone to Muscle Shoals on Apple Music, Amazon, YouTube, Distrokid and Bandcamp.
