Circus Mind throws open the doors with their new single, “NOLA Song,” and immediately, the air gets thick with something swampy and alive. It’s a blast of sound, fronted by Mark Rechler’s buoyant keys and vocals, rolling out an invitation that feels less like a polite request and more like a joyful, almost desperate tug on the sleeve. This isn’t just sightseeing; it’s soul-seeking set to a serious groove.
The band – Brian Duggan laying down slick guitar lines, Michael Amendola’s saxophone crying and celebrating, underpinned by the lockstep rhythm section of Matt Fox, Steve Finkelstein, and Dan Roth – conjures that particular New Orleans energy. It’s funk-rock, yes, but steeped in that humid, second-line strut, the kind of music that seems to rise right up from the cracked pavement itself. You hear echoes of influences, sure, like finding a faded Little Feat sticker plastered on Dr. John’s piano. There’s a density to it, a history baked right into the beat.
Lyrically, the party vibe masks a tender vulnerability. The plea to “Come to Nola” doubles, quite pointedly, as a plea to “Come know love.” It casts the Crescent City as a cure-all, a vibrant sanctuary where loneliness evaporates amidst the music, the food, the sheer presence of the place. It makes me picture someone trying to reconstruct a lost feeling using only spices and brass instruments – a fascinating, slightly improbable kind of alchemy. Can a city truly be a synonym for connection?
The track barrels forward with undeniable energy, a high-spirited tribute demanding movement. Yet, it’s that undercurrent of yearning beneath the swagger, that ache wrapped in celebratory horns, which lodges itself in the mind. It’s less a postcard, more like finding a tear-stained note tucked inside a Mardi Gras bead necklace.
So, does channeling the undeniable spirit of New Orleans actually bridge the distance between two lonely souls, or does it just provide a fantastic beat to dance through the heartache?
