Grade: A+
Galactic’s latest album, “Carnivale Electricos,” is packed with the traditional sounds of carnival season reinvented with heavy electronic influence. This creates surprising new sounds, like in the track “Voyage Ton Flag,” which mixes zydeco music and Cajun French lyrics with spacey synth-rock. Paying homage to the band’s hometown of New Orleans, a city known for its Mardi Gras festivities, the album includes a quintessential sound of the city’s elaborate parades – high school marching bands. Listeners can clearly picture bands marching down Canal Street in the song “Karate.” The album stretches beyond Mardi Gras to the Brazilian celebration of Carnival in the track “Magalenha,” a cover of the country’s popular native samba. The album closes much like the celebration of Mardi Gras does – with reflective track “Ash Wednesday.”