photo by Steve Rapport // "In my four chambered heart, I have plastered all the walls / With the scraps and the maps that I’ve found to make sense of it all..."
The jazz blues dance, speakeasy bloodletting of "Scorched Earth & the Flood" by New Orleans singer-songwriter / multi-instrumentalist Daphne Parker Powell, and from her 7th upcoming album "The Death of Cool", sweeps you up in a masterful blend of cinematic musicality and Powell's smoky vocal countenance while stirring your drink too. The album drops May 22 (2026) and features some of NOLA's most stellar musicians including the iconic Squirrel Nut Zippers &Preservation Hall. I am loving the constructions here, as the stand up bass and drums / tambo / shake holds down a swanky constant dance, as other layers of instrumentation flutter in, hold center stage, ease back while never stepping on Powell's vocal toes. Loving the perfectly placed piano keys, the mournful alto sax / trombone / tenor sax swells and Caroline Brunious’ radiant clarinet gliding in and out of the spotlight. Kudos to all the musicians including Powell herself on acoustic guitar. The way the whole affair shifts effortlessly is just wondrous and no wonder as this track was produced by platinum-selling artist Jimbo Mathus and engineered/mixed by Grammy Award-winner Mike Napolitano.
Powell says this about the track:
"A very unsubtle nod to Anais Nin, of course. We can’t help loving who we love. Sure, as we learn our lessons, we refine what we are willing to tolerate and for how long, but that doesn’t stop us loving. And we walk through the heart, each chamber like a room where we pin up our butterflies even when they cease to flutter."
[In my four chambered heart, I have plastered all the walls / With the scraps and the maps that I’ve found to make sense of it all...]
“In a way, this song may be the true heart of the album—the journeying that finally brings you back to yourself"
Touring and creating from her home base in New Orleans, Daphne Parker Powell brings fierce will, humor, and vulnerability to every stage and recording. The Death of Cool stands as her boldest statement yet—a powerful, deeply human album offering catharsis, warmth, and hope in uncertain times.]
The Chicken Wheel will take you to the AP Go Fund Me- and any amount is so appreciated!
https://www.instagram.com/daphneparkerpowell/
https://www.facebook.com/DameCalico/
https://linktr.ee/daphneparkerpowell
From Daphne Parker Powell's album 'The Death of Cool', coming May 22, 2026.
Filmed & Animated by Triple Threat Media & Jonathan Brown.
The first single, “Scorched Earth & the Flood,” arriving January 23, introduces the album’s vivid tension between grit and grace. Produced by platinum-selling artist Jimbo Mathus and engineered/mixed by Grammy Award-winner Mike Napolitano, the record features an extraordinary lineup of New Orleans, Mississippi, and Muscle Shoals talent, including Preservation Hall’s Wendell & Caroline Brunious, Charlie Halloran, Brent Rose, Kirk “Bowie” Russell, and members of Squirrel Nut Zippers. The result is lush horn arrangements, swamp-soaked guitars, upright bass, and cinematic energy wrapped around Powell’s unmistakable voice.
Highlighted by Caroline Brunious’ exquisite clarinet playing, Powell calls the single “a very unsubtle nod to Anaïs Nin, of course. We can’t help loving who we love. Sure, as we learn our lessons, we refine what we are willing to tolerate and for how long, but that doesn’t stop us loving. And we walk through the heart, each chamber like a room where we pin up our butterflies even when they cease to flutter.”
In my four chambered heart, I have plastered all the walls / With the scraps and the maps that I’ve found to make sense of it all
“In a way, this song may be the true heart of the album—the journeying that finally brings you back to yourself", she continues.
Across ten tracks, The Death of Cool explores the unraveling of cultural mythologies—questioning rebellion, cynicism, and the illusion of “cool,” while inviting listeners back to sincerity, curiosity, and connection. It’s an album that critiques while celebrating, pulsing with danceable, torch-lit Southern gothic spirit.
Touring and creating from her home base in New Orleans, Daphne Parker Powell brings fierce will, humor, and vulnerability to every stage and recording. The Death of Cool stands as her boldest statement yet—a powerful, deeply human album offering catharsis, warmth, and hope in uncertain times.
Drums & Tambo/Shaker - Jimbo Mathus
Upright Bass - John Kveen
Acoustic Guitar & Vocals - Daphne Parker Powell
Grand Piano - Banjo Bergfeld
Clarinet - Caroline Brunious
Tenor Sax - Brent Rose
Alto Sax - Alejandro 'Alex' Canales
Trombone - Charlie Halloran
Hand Drum - Kirk Bowie Russell
Electric Guitar - Kirk Bowie Russell
BGV - Zoe Di Priester, Anna Laura Quinn
“In a way, this song may be the true heart of the album—the journeying that finally brings you back to yourself"
LINER NOTES (excerpted / bracketed):
[Across ten tracks, The Death of Cool explores the unraveling of cultural mythologies—questioning rebellion, cynicism, and the illusion of “cool,” while inviting listeners back to sincerity, curiosity, and connection. It’s an album that critiques while celebrating, pulsing with danceable, torch-lit Southern gothic spirit.
Touring and creating from her home base in New Orleans, Daphne Parker Powell brings fierce will, humor, and vulnerability to every stage and recording. The Death of Cool stands as her boldest statement yet—a powerful, deeply human album offering catharsis, warmth, and hope in uncertain times.]
Wonderfully produced with amazing musicians from top to bottom, the potent connective tissue holding it all together is Daphne Parker Powell's songwriting, open and vulnerable and bleeding. Her vocal character walks a tightrope between a full bodied confessional, a vibrato that within the context can feel like a painful tremble. Love the emotional divides here that centers the song making it feel like an artful look at a diary full of honest catharsis and beautiful doodles.
-Robb Donker Curtius
The Chicken Wheel will take you to the AP Go Fund Me- and any amount is so appreciated!
THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM
https://www.instagram.com/daphneparkerpowell/
https://www.facebook.com/DameCalico/
https://linktr.ee/daphneparkerpowell
From Daphne Parker Powell's album 'The Death of Cool', coming May 22, 2026.
Filmed & Animated by Triple Threat Media & Jonathan Brown.
The first single, “Scorched Earth & the Flood,” arriving January 23, introduces the album’s vivid tension between grit and grace. Produced by platinum-selling artist Jimbo Mathus and engineered/mixed by Grammy Award-winner Mike Napolitano, the record features an extraordinary lineup of New Orleans, Mississippi, and Muscle Shoals talent, including Preservation Hall’s Wendell & Caroline Brunious, Charlie Halloran, Brent Rose, Kirk “Bowie” Russell, and members of Squirrel Nut Zippers. The result is lush horn arrangements, swamp-soaked guitars, upright bass, and cinematic energy wrapped around Powell’s unmistakable voice.
Highlighted by Caroline Brunious’ exquisite clarinet playing, Powell calls the single “a very unsubtle nod to Anaïs Nin, of course. We can’t help loving who we love. Sure, as we learn our lessons, we refine what we are willing to tolerate and for how long, but that doesn’t stop us loving. And we walk through the heart, each chamber like a room where we pin up our butterflies even when they cease to flutter.”
In my four chambered heart, I have plastered all the walls / With the scraps and the maps that I’ve found to make sense of it all
“In a way, this song may be the true heart of the album—the journeying that finally brings you back to yourself", she continues.
Across ten tracks, The Death of Cool explores the unraveling of cultural mythologies—questioning rebellion, cynicism, and the illusion of “cool,” while inviting listeners back to sincerity, curiosity, and connection. It’s an album that critiques while celebrating, pulsing with danceable, torch-lit Southern gothic spirit.
Touring and creating from her home base in New Orleans, Daphne Parker Powell brings fierce will, humor, and vulnerability to every stage and recording. The Death of Cool stands as her boldest statement yet—a powerful, deeply human album offering catharsis, warmth, and hope in uncertain times.
Drums & Tambo/Shaker - Jimbo Mathus
Upright Bass - John Kveen
Acoustic Guitar & Vocals - Daphne Parker Powell
Grand Piano - Banjo Bergfeld
Clarinet - Caroline Brunious
Tenor Sax - Brent Rose
Alto Sax - Alejandro 'Alex' Canales
Trombone - Charlie Halloran
Hand Drum - Kirk Bowie Russell
Electric Guitar - Kirk Bowie Russell
BGV - Zoe Di Priester, Anna Laura Quinn
Daphne Parker Powell, singer songwriter, guitarist / keyboardist, multi-instrumentalist, New Orleans based, emotional chords, vulnerable vocal style, cathartic, "Scorched Earth & the Flood" (Official Video),
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