Sam Doores is a firm believer in democracy. He has to be as a member of the mainly New Orleans–based quintet the Deslondes, a band whose hallmark has been the egalitarian way it creates its gumbo of classic country, sparse blues, and the Big Easy’s soul. Each member contributes songs but isn’t sacred with them, often allowing another member to sing vocals or take the lead instrumentally. “If four of us agree on something but one really, really doesn’t want to do [the song], we’ll let it go. But if that one person just isn’t feeling it, they get outvoted,” Doores says with a laugh.
But democracy can be fragile. The band coalesced during loose jam sessions in the Lower Ninth Ward, where they would gather at Doores’s house on Deslonde Street and play until dawn. Their self-titled debut came in 2015, and their raucous live shows cemented them as one of Americana’s must-see acts. But in 2022, drummer/keyboardist and founding member Cameron Snyder had grown weary of the relentless touring and wanted to settle down. It was an amicable split, but still a gut punch for a band that maintains a remarkable level of cooperation. “At various points, I think we all were reckoning with this being the end,” Doores says. As it turned out, they found the right replacement nearby; one of Doores’s closest friends, Howe Pearson, worked as a sought-after session musician gigging around New Orleans and had toured with fellow Big Easy group Hurray for the Riff Raff. “This band thrives on things being equal,” Doores says. “He’s the only one who could do it.”
Rejuvenated, the members decamped to Nashville’s Bomb Shelter studio to record their fourth album, Roll It Out, which G&G is proud to premiere. After 2022’s experimental Ways & Means, the band ditched the woozy overdubs for a stripped-down effort that is as warm and inviting as the first tipple from the Sazerac Bar. “Hold on Liza” and “Pour Another Round” peak with sing-along choruses after pulsing guitar riffs and brass band horns. The bouncy folk of “I’ll Do It” morphs into a Sticky Fingers–era rocker with a massive Keith Richards–approved descending riff, while the mournful shuffle of “Grand Junction” looks back on their rough and rowdy early days with a skeptical eye.
Roll It Out is the sound of a band hurtling toward a fresh start, only to find themselves back in a familiar place, wiser and with a couple more battle scars. “We wanted the album to be the rawest, most honest version of ourselves,” Doores says, “because there’s a lot of love in this band.”
Stream the album below (the video will play through each song), or play it track by track at this link.
Roll It Out will be released on Friday, September 6. Click here to preorder and see tour dates.
