That distinctive, quiet, sweet croon of former busker Madeleine Peyroux doesn’t seem to fit a bold and outspoken singer. That is, until now. These ten songs, co-written by Peyroux and longtime collaborator Jon Herington (Steely Dan), delve into the personal, the political, the playful, and the yearning.
Let’s Walk is her ninth album and first in six years. In its own self-assured way, it seems to mark a turn. Quietly intense is as good a descriptor as any. In Peyroux’s point of view, this is a conversation that strives to build unity with an open-minded musical community. Musically, it doesn’t differ too much from past efforts as there are hints of jazz, blues, folk, and chamber pop. When renowned producer Elliott Scheiner heard some of the material, he quickly demanded no covers on the album. These lyrics, combined with Herington’s melodic but relatively spare arrangements, offered a breakthrough of sorts. Herington plays a wide array of instruments, joined by keyboardist Andy Ezrin, who does the same, bassist Paul Frazier, and drummer Graham Hawthorne. Background vocalists include the esteemed Catherine Russell, Cindy Mizelle, and Keith Fluitt.
Peyroux has become increasingly civic-minded, and the pandemic shutdown, along with the social protests during that period, sparked much of this material. She immersed herself in the writings of James Baldwin, W.E.B. Du Bois, and Cornel West, all of whom contributed to her reawakened outlook, which she calls “a shadow of reckoning,” adding, “African American music has been the one constant, true path in my life.”
You may have heard the single, “How I Wish,” where she reflects solemnly on the brutal murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery in early 2020, her wish to reverse these horrific events with its closing refrain, “no more, no more.” Perhaps a precursor to that song is the gentle, acoustic opener, “Find True Love,” imagining the first step in healing after the pandemic. What better place to begin than New Orleans to find hope after the darkness?
The tone shifts dramatically on the title track, a blend of march and gospel buoyed by the background vocalists as Peyroux envisions a worldwide mobilization of marchers for civil rights globally. These gospel call-and-response sequences course through “Please Come On Inside” and “Blues for Heaven,” delivered with a snappy fervor that’s not quite as powerful as a revival tent show but clearly in that direction. Her “Showman Dan” is a bluesy, barrelhouse piano ode to her mentor and friend, Dan William Fitzgerald, leader of the Lost Wandering Blues and Jazz Band, an ex-pat who helped build Peyroux’s career in Europe.
Peyroux touches on other topics, too. On the raw, anguished “Nothing Personal,” she bravely confronts sexual assault, hers and others. Herington is delicate and restrained in support on piano and acoustic guitar, aptly framing Peyroux’s emotive delivery. She rails against privilege in “Et Puis,” sung in French. Having moved to Paris when she was twelve years old, she noticed the custom of bourgeois parents buying an apartment for their grown children. She assumes the role of one such adolescent who is torn between enjoying the favorable treatment while bearing the guilt of its injustice.
She veers from the serious mode in the Caribbean-tinged “Me and the Mosquito,” that insect who ruins a good night’s sleep, inspired by Hank Williams’ chestnut “Fly Trouble.” Herington lays down a ska-like guitar and a sampled marimba over which Peyroux goes rapid fire on the spoken word “Take Care.” Though she is never preachy until this point, she wants to impart admonitions about ever-present toxins in food and life in general – (‘life is an art and perspective needs distance/But ya gotta get lean and scrappy and fight/If you’re gonna begin to livin’ right.”)
Peyroux takes a gigantic leap with the provocative Let’s Walk, her community-minded statement.
