‘L’Esprit’ shows it’s not the same everywhere

“L’ESPRIT CREOLE,” Cedric Watson et Bijou Creole (Valcour)

In a vast nation dominated by identical chain restaurants, McMansions and big-box stores, it’s easy to forget that the United States also has pockets of unusual culture, such as the Creole of Louisiana.

Singer/accordionist/fiddler Cedric Watson commemorates the blended traditions of French and African people with his new “L’Esprit Creole,” which sounds all the more exotic with its infusions of country and blues plus polyrhythmic-based arrangements.

Yet as sophisticated and quasi-complicated as “L’Esprit Creole” is, the release sounds like a freewheeling, near-spontaneous good time.

Starting with the hydraulic lift of accordion on opening cut “Bijou Creole,” the album is in a perpetual state of life-affirming inflation with brief periods of deflation to vary the tension.

Electric guitar adds to the spirit of “Le Sud de la Louisiane,” which is further amplified by backing vocals that echo the title refrain, and the constant swell, hypnotic rhythm and child-like melody of “Mais La” yields irrepressibly compelling results. Meanwhile, the swirl of expressive fiddles on “J’Suis Parti Au Texas” fuels Watson’s urgent delivery, and a whoosh of percussion and horns energizes “Zydeco Paradise.”

The upbeat charisma that punctuates most of “L’Esprit Creole” is contrasted by a few more easygoing cuts, such as the reggae-tilted, aptly titled “C’Est la Vie,” and the steel-guitar-supported honky-tonk waltz “Cher ’Tit Coeur.”

There are minor fluctuations in consistency and incongruent shifts in momentum from time to time, as well as a bizarre couple of instances (on “Lafayette Lala” and “Bluerunner”) when the rhythm gets stuck in an uncomfortable rut. However, Watson’s invitation to this cultural celebration is hard to turn down.