Galactic, being from New Orleans, is up to its eyeballs in groove sauce 24-7. So when these youngsters (Robert Mercurio on bass, Stanton Moore on drums, Jeff Raines on guitar and Rich Vogel on keyboards) lock into a beat, you know they’re not faking it. Coolin Off (Fog City, FCCD 001, 54:39) contains bows to their Crescent City forefathers (like the Meters-influenced “Funky Bird”) and other languid, strolling grooves. Vogel carries most of the solo space-check “On the One”-and some compositions are fleshed out by some welcome guest stars. The disc-opening “Go-Go” features Erik Jakobson on trumpet, Mark Mullins on trombone and Eric Taub on sax. Vocalist Theryl deClouet adds some weatherbeaten soul to the Stax-influenced neck-snapper “Something’s Wrong with this Picture.”
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