The album also sheds light on a local tradition that’s been a part of Richard’s family for decades: the Mardi Gras Indian parade, a result of a kindred partnership that formed centuries ago between Native Americans and Africans in what’s now considered Louisiana. Richard wistfully retells the stories of her Catholic school days, of craving sno-balls (a shaved ice confection that’s specific to the port city), of feasting on crawfish, another local delicacy.
In the first few moments of Dawn Richard’s new album, New Breed, you are immediately transported back in time and space to New Orleans, where it all began for the singer-songwriter.
