Wisely, the Bluerunners never took a vow of purity. Their sound wants to have it both ways, and that dichotomy has served them and their listeners well over seventeen years and four previous albums. Theres no denying the zydeco and Cajun music that permeates the bands home turf of Lafayette, Louisiana, is at the heart of their roots rock. But founder Mark Meaux (the one original member still on board) and various crews have always embraced and elevated the blues, rock, rhythm & blues and country that dance along the edges of those native music forms.
A big world exists beyond the bayou, and the sounds within and the sounds beyond sure enough can get along. Thus, Honey Slides offers up such concoctions as Meauxs I Got You, which imagines the outcome had Dylan chosen to go electric in southwest Louisiana, and The Gravedigger, with a Latino-rock beat, electric guitar and accordion interplay, and jam-song length marking the spot where Santana, Los Lobos and zydeco pass in the night. Ghost Of A Girl, featuring guest vocals from Susan Cowsill, is another three-way: one-third Richard & Linda Thompson at their jauntiest, one-third Stones 68, and one-third Cajun jig.
But then gears are shifted, and the band shows how comfortably they can settle into a cover of Conray Fontenots Coulee Rodaire and an original waltz titled Lune De Minuit, both sung in French by accordionist Ade Huval. Above all else, the Bluerunners are gonna make you move.