Luke Winslow-King is a Northern boy made good. Lured to New Orleans for the same reason everyone else is (music), Winslow-King studied at the University of New Orleans. While I’m sure he was interested in blues and jazz long before then, that hip-swaggering, bourbon-and-tea-sipping New Orleans style is very much a presence in Everlasting Arms.
Winslow-King’s warm, earthy voice lends itself to these down-to-earth compositions. “Everlasting Arms” and “Swing That Thing” show off Winslow-King’s rock’n’roll bravado. Winslow-King’s the first album, The Coming Tide, was celebrated for its New Orleans-influenced tunes. This time around, it feels to me that New Orleans takes a — not a backseat, let’s say passenger’s seat — to Winslow-King’s take on rock’n’roll and pop. These songs would be very much at home on the radio in the best kind of way. However, it’s the majestic “Last Night I Dreamed My Birthday” that stopped me in my tracks. The lyrics, instrumentation, and performance are absolutely perfect — the kind of song that makes this album earn its place on my list of required reading.
Luke Winslow King — Official, Facebook, Purchase from Bloodshot Records