Carencro

Carencro, named for Marc Broussard's Louisiana hometown, is at times a swamp-pop masterpiece, with leadoff track "Home" stealing the mud-crusted show. What happens in the 11 songs that follow, though, could redeem major record labels from their bullying reputations. Because instead of shoving this pop/rock/soul/R&B wunderkind in the right direction--that being the direction that center-spears his gift for channeling greats like Sam Cooke, John Hiatt, and Stevie Wonder in the space of a single song--whoever was in charge let him wander, and what resulted is a collection that, while hugely promising, fails to measure up to his big, baritoney talent. The songwriting is troublesome in spots ("I know you can break these chains/and set me free," from "Save Me"), and the genre shifts, while fun ("Saturday" is a '70s-style, horn-studded affair), can be jarring. For next go-round, fans--he will earn them, and deservedly, with this disc--should keep their fingers crossed that "Home" is where his heart is. --Tammy La Gorce