Momentary Setback is undeniably a strange choice for the title of one's debut release, hardly suggesting a vote of self-confidence. Yet this first release from southern Louisiana native
Marc Broussard is brimming with confidence and self-assurance.
Broussard sounds many, many years older than he was at the time of the album's recording, bearing a gritty, at times ferocious delivery that seems to channel street spirits. Or more likely, the spirits of still-kicking blues-rockers like
John Hiatt and
Delbert McClinton, or perhaps the bayou's own
Dr. John. Producer Marshall Altman, himself a heartland rock veteran via his short-lived band
Farmer, intuitively understands
Broussard's growling, road-worn inclinations, and gives him just the right framework in which to explore them. Key to the sound is Shawn Carter's magnificently textured organ, and his clavinet playing, shining most brightly on "Just Like That" and "Blue Jeans." It's not a modern sound, but it's the right sound.
Momentary Setback isn't as much fun in the second half when it takes a decidedly more spiritual bent, but this recording presents Broussard as a talented songwriter and storyteller, and an astonishingly gifted and unique vocalist. ~ Joseph McCombs