2015 will see the release of the much anticipated first album from the French-leaning, seven-member indie pop group, Sweet Crude.

The group’s first EP, Super Vilaine (2012), laid the groundwork for the group’s sound, which features sparse melodic instrumentation – analog keyboards, violin, bass guitar but no six-string – over a thick bed of drums, played simultaneously by four drummers. In this way, Sweet Crude sounds similar to other popular bands of the day, such as Arcade Fire and Imagine Dragons.

“The songwriting has evolved a lot,” says bandleader Sam Craft. “We’ve been incorporating a wider range of elements and gotten darker on some levels – we’ve explored some more sinister timbres. We’ve explored what it would be like to write a three-minute pop song, straight up, no fooling around – still decorated in all the Sweet Crude filigree. We have also been playing with transitional pieces: soundscapes that connect the new songs together.”

One thing that will remain is the band’s penchant for singing many of their lyrics in Louisiana French. “[Our singer] Alexis [Marceaux] grew up hearing traditional Louisiana music all the time with her family, who is from Morgan City. Then my mom’s family is from Opelousas. My great grandfather was monolingual French, so it was something that was heard at family gatherings. It was sort of a curiosity that I was too young to really care about or be passionate about.”

But around 2011, Craft’s curiosity blossomed into a mission to help keep Louisiana French alive. CLICK HERE to read the rest of this piece at Acadiana Living.

Or check this gorgeous live clip for the Sweet Crude song “Super Vilaine”: