Album Review - Galactic - Ya-Ka-May

This review is part of the "Over Flow" Review Series. For various reasons these past reviews were not published anywhere else. I am tagging them as "Overflow Reviews" and may add some extra information before or after if needed but will keep the ratings and reviews just as I originally wrote them. Enjoy:

Galactic

Ya-Ka-May

**** out of *****

Named after a New Orleans street dish, Ya-Ka-May is the sound of funk band Galactic trying to capture NOLA music today, as advertised, “this is not your father’s New Orleans album”.  In a sense they have succeed, continuing to blend hip-hop into their patented digital funk sound, but manage to take it a step further then on their last record From the Corner to the Block adding a distinctly New Orleans appeal with the friends they invited, no outsiders here. 

Not all songs sound completed and at times the guests and the band seem to be divided on the direction of tracks but there is a lot here to digest.  Almost a mix-tape in presentation Galactic added such dynamic and varying local guests from Allen Toussaint on the bubbling “Bacchus” to bounce “sissy rapping” stars Katey Red and Sissy Nobby doing their booty shaking thang on “Katey vs. Nobby”.  Just between those two cuts that are sequenced next to each other, you span generations, genres, cultures, and followings, showing just how diverse the NOLA music scene currently is. 

Trombone Shorty pops up and contributes some funky brass blowing on “Cineramascope” while Ryan Scully and Josh Cohen from the now defunct Morning 40 Federation add their boozy charm to “Liquor Pang”, a personal favorite.  Walter “Wolfman” Washington plops a dollop of swampy blues with “Speaks His Mind”, and throughout Galactic do what they do best, play sidemen to the great talents that they gathered for their record.  They support rather then star on their own production, and it works better then on some of their past efforts.

This is the sound of the present day New Orelans, the beautiful thing is that while its history is magnificent the city is constantly changing in its style.  As long as groups like Galactic continue to spread the good word of all types of NOLA sound the town is in great hands, grab a helping of Ya-Ka-May for some salty southern goodness. 

For Booty Shakin' and more click on the jump:

Live Streams: Galactic "Mardi Gras Monday"

With live music on lock down (like everything else currently in New York City) live streams and old concerts have become essential for live music junkies like RtBE. While this current state of pandemic separation is in order we will highlight various shows/streams/virtual events for your viewing and listening pleasure. Also you can always check out or weekly Full Show Friday series for concerts from the past. Please support the artists any which way you can.

Today we highlight: Galactic "Mardi Gras Monday"

View this post on Instagram

Join us on Monday for a full stream of our 2.22.2020 Mardi Gras show at Tipitina's! We know you need some funk and we want to start your week off right. Pour yourself a drink, make some read beans + rice and tune in to our Galactic Facebook page at 7 pm cst on Monday! We will see you there. 💛⚡

A post shared by GALACTIC (@galacticfunknola) on Apr 3, 2020 at 12:51pm PDT

If you are not in the metal mood this Monday, you can get funky with Galactic.  The band (who are also Tipitina's owners) will be showing their recent Mardi Gras show from the historic venue tonight 7pm CST on their Facebook page.

Support the band and club owners and to get ready for tonight's show, here is some live Galactic from 2019 at the fantastic Louisiana Music Factory with Boyfriend:

Album Review: Galactic - Tchompitoulas

Galactic 

Tchompitoulas

***and1/2 out of *****

Over the years Galactic has morphed styles and genres as the New Orleans group easily moved between being the focus, or supporting act, to many of the cities brightest. That gamut running style continues on their newest EP, creatively titled Tchompitoulas. 

The 6 song outing touches on different genres as the group flexes their musical muscle and invites more friends to join in. Galactic anchors the sound but shift with ease, the opening "Big Whiskers" is the only cut with just the core band, (Robert Mercurio, Jeff Raines, Richard Vogel, Stanton Moore, Ben Ellman, Shamarr Allen) and it pumps deep funk and ripping guitar riffs. 

The first guest on the scene is Eric Biddiness as the MC drops his flow all over the hip hop beats (which owe a debt to "No Diggity") on a track titled "Making Cents". Galactic always work well backing MC's and this is no exception, the muted trumpet's add a nice touch. Speaking of trumpets, Eric Gordon blows his way excellently into the EP's instrumental title track, perhaps the strongest effort here. 

The other big highlight is the pop showcase for Anjelika Jelly Joseph titled "Float Up" which allows the vocalist to shine brightly over the r&b influenced beats. That style sticks around, as does Joseph who duets with Afro-Cuban vocalist Cimafunk, blaring through the funky track "Ready For Me". 

The group wraps up with second line percussion and modern day electro blues as Glen David Andrews maps out the lines from "Ny to Nola" with prisons and pain linking the two great towns. A quick joint, Tchompitoulas is another feather in the cap for the fluid group as they stay on the forefront of modern New Orleans music and beyond. 

_____________________

Support the band, buy the album and peep some video below:

Album Review: Galactic - Carnivale Electricos

Hey all,

Got a new review up over on Glide.

Read it Right C'here!!!!

It is of Galactic's newest release, Carnivale Electricos.

Jazzfest is right around the corner and RtBE is getting giddy, what better way to get juiced for the proceedings then to review one of the hardest working bands that city has to offer?  Galactic have killed it recently representing their hometown expertly on their last release and tour.  Carnivale Electricos continues that trend gloriously with an out and out party put down on wax. 

Once this train gets rolling there is no stopping it.  We can not wait to catch Galactic in their home town during the beginning of May, and our hometown as the month wraps up.  Should be exciting times, until then grab the album here and preview some tracks below:

"Hey Na Na"


"Karate"


"Move Fast"

Glide Review - Trombone Shorty & Galactic LIVE 2/26/11

Hey there boys and girls, got a new review up on Glide.

Read it right C'Here!

It is of Trombone Shorty & Orleans Ave and Galactic funking it up at Terminal Five on Saturday night 2/26/11.

Dig both of these bands, and enjoyed the show with friends and family.  Oh and can't forget the High and Mighty Brass Band, they may have been the highlight of the whole show!

Check out some video below captured by the random peoples as I was too busy dancing:

Trombone Horns coming out with Galactic:

Trombone Shorty (On Trumpet) Playing the longest not...evah!!!:
 High and Mighty in the crowd:
Galactic:

Full Show Friday: Galactic featuring Irma Thomas, Jelly Joseph, Erica Falls & Maggie Koerner - Live at NOLA Funk Fest 2025

We search the murky back waters of youtube to find full concerts and post them to the site weekly, come back every seven days to help us celebrate Full Show Friday's. These shows are of varying quality and may not be here for long so enjoy them while you can...As always, please support the artist every which way, but especially by seeing them live (if they are still playing)...This week...Galactic featuring  Irma Thomas, Jelly Joseph, Erica Falls & Maggie Koerner!

Every April (and first week in May) we have a special showcase during our Full Show Friday series for bands who are playing this years Jazzfest in NOLA. Today we will focus on Galactic who will be playing on Sunday May 3rd

Album Review: Galactic - Already Ready Already

Hey all, got a new review up @glidemag which you can read Right C'here!!!

It is of Galactic's newest release, Already Ready Already. 

I seem to be the go to for Galactic reviews on Glide Magazine, having reviewed the last few of their albums for the site. This one is better than Into The Deep, weaker than Carnivale Electricos and our favorite of theirs Ya-Ka-May. No matter when they release something I am very happy to do so as the band is constantly innovating and using the most musical city in the country as it's back drop. 

The beauty of the band is that they are funky chameleons and looking to evolve every time out. Honestly, it doesn't always translate perfectly on record, but the results are always worth hearing. 

Already Ready Already plays like a long EP more then a must hear full length, but he songs can hit some really high-points including "Touch Get Cut" and our favorite "Dance At My Funeral", their pumping collaboration with BOYFRIEND. 

Personally that is why I love listening to Galactic, if I was to look at the album sleeve and guess which songs I would like best based on guests or known musical styles of tunes 99% of the time I would be wrong, they always turn me on to something new. Can't ask too much more when reviewing tunes. 

Support the band, buy the album, see them live (this Saturday @ Brooklyn Steel) read the review and peep some video below:

   

Year In Review 2025 - Favorite Albums Part 3 (Top 5)

Another year is finishing up and @RockBodElec wouldn't be a proper music site if we didn't end the year with a "Best Of" list, so RtBE presents 2025's Favorite Albums Part 3: Top Five.

In the instance that RtBE has reviewed the album, either on this site or elsewhere, we will link to that review and just give a quick summation, click on the name/title and you can read our full opinion. RtBE worked with the Glide Team to give input on their Top 20, so you can expect some overlap if you already have seen that list.

Again the focus here is on full albums, not singles, but long playing releases you can slap on and listen all the way through. We know these are a dying breed, but it still is the way we consume music, no shuffle, AI music, Spotify, or playlists for us.

The number ten just works for this, so here is the second part of our top ten, numbers five through one. You can see the back end of our top ten and our list of Honorable Mentions that were just out of our top ten. Consider those 10-24, in no particular order.

Like all of our lists or 'best of', these are meant to start conversations, not end them...

Full Show Friday: Galactic featuring Maggie Koerner @ Jazzfest 2014

We search the murky back waters of youtube to find full concerts and post them to the site weekly, come back every seven days to help us celebrate Full Show Friday's. These shows are of varying quality and may not be here for long so enjoy them while you can...As always, please support the artist every which way, but especially by seeing them live (if they are still playing)...This week...Galactic featuring Maggie Koerner!

This, in non-pandemic years, would be the first weekend of New Orleans Jazz Fest. So to celebrate let's get down to some Galactic, who play the Fair Grounds every year. The band are ambassadors for their home city as well owning the club Tipitina's and bringing the NOLA flavor everywhere they go. 

The festival itself hopes to come back this October, so keep your fingers crossed and enjoy the funky styling of these musicians playing the festival back in 2014 with special guest Maggie Koerner. 

Pro Shot, Pro Sound, Great sunshine, Enjoy:

Live Streams: Tipitinas.TV - Galactic, Tank & The Bangas etc

With live music on lock down (like everything else currently in New York City) live streams and old concerts have become essential for live music junkies like RtBE. While this current state of pandemic separation is in order we will highlight various shows/streams/virtual events for your viewing and listening pleasure and you can always check out or weekly Full Show Friday series for concerts from the past. Please support the artists any which way you can.

Today we highlight: Tipitina's TV Saturday Nights

Starting tomorrow night 6 weeks in a row Tipitina's TV is going to broadcast live sets from a few of the best acts going in New Orleans these days. The home team Galactic kick it off tomorrow with Samantha Fish and a host of other greats coming up:

View this post on Instagram

We're incredibly excited to announce the launch of our latest initiative: Tipitina’s.TV Presented by Crystal Hot Sauce! To celebrate this grand unveiling, we ask that you join us for a 6-week concert series airing every Saturday at 9PM EST/8PM CST and running from August 15th - September 19th! Tickets are currently available for each show individually at Tipitinas.TV - or a subscription for the full series will be available soon! Follow the direct links below for more info - or click the link in our bio! Aug 15 - Galactic: 2nu.gs/tipitinastv815 Aug 22 - Rebirth Brass Band: 2nu.gs/tipitinastv822 Aug 29 - Anders Osborne: 2nu.gs/tipitinastv829 Sept 5 - Tank & The Bangas: 2nu.gs/tipitinastv905 Sept 12 - Samantha Fish: 2nu.gs/tipitinastv912 Sept 19 - The Radiators: 2nu.gs/tipitinastv919 Show your support for these great artists during this difficult time by getting down with us in the coming weekends! We would also like to say a huge THANK YOU to Crystal Hot Sauce for their support in making this amazing opportunity possible for ourselves and the artists and crews at this time. <Powered by Nugs.tv>

A post shared by Tipitina's (@tipitinasuptown) on Aug 8, 2020 at 8:37am PDT

To get ready for the new series here is Tank & The Bangas: