The Sleazeball Orchestra - Pearl River Tango (2022)

The New Orleans underground cabaret jazz outfit The Sleazeball Orchestra has released their second full-length album, Pearl River Tango. The collection is a mix of simmering originals, risqué covers, and freaky grooves that enhance the group’s exotic sound.

The duo of Kitty Baudoin (aka Fraulein Frances) and Stoo Odom conduct the Orchestra with Christopher Johnson (Saxophone) and Ian Petillo (Drums) supporting, while Jonathan Freilich and Dylan Torrance split guitar duties throughout the record.

The funky groove and squawking distortion from Freilich’s guitar kick start things on “About The Future” while the group plays it fairly straight ahead with the literally on fire “My Heart Burned Down Today”. An early high point, “Legs Rub T”, is a melodic original with some of the smoothest vocals, drum fills and guitar lines on a record full of them.

Baudoin shows off her immense vocal range on both “A Seat On Eternity” and “Goldfinger” while the players scale back the noise and punk fury, but keep the angst-passion flowing for a cover of Husker Du’s “Everything Falls Apart”. Bassist Odom accentuates “Ogether” with warbling distorted runs before he dips back into his off-kilter indie rock past, pushing the sensual groove of “The White Devils Death Song”.

Two jazz standards get shiny makeovers as “That Old Black Magic” finds the band cutting loose with the best ear-popping solos on the record from all involved, while album closer “My Heart Belongs To Dada” gets humorous new lyrics inserted into the Cole Porter tune.

That sense of playfulness is at the heart of The Sleazeball Orchestra’s best work as the group nails killer takes on Tom Lehrer’s “The Masochistic Tango”, which finds Baudoin shaking her maracas, and Peggy Lee’s “Sneakin’ Up On You” delivering dynamite sax work around a sultry groove.

Like the southern priest/dominatrix/altar-burning scandal the album is named for, Pearl River Tango manages to mix the angels and the devils with songs that always keep the ear attuned for the next freak out or sweet sonic swell emanating out of the depths of The Sleazeball Orchestra.