There are plenty of bands playing the blues in New Orleans, but Leopard Hounds sound like they belong specifically to the Bywater. On their new album, Too Hot For Snakes, the four-piece brings the neighborhood's late-night energy into a jumped-up strain of indie blues powered by stinging guitars, restless rhythms and the kind of swagger that makes standing still seem like a bad idea.

Too Hot For Snakes packs ten songs into a lean 35 minutes, with titles like "Jaw Flappin'," "Jukebox Emergency," "Bywater Train," "Bone Time" and "Where's Smokey" giving a pretty good indication of the band's personality. The Hounds play loose without ever sounding sloppy, leaving plenty of room for flashy guitar work and pulsating drums while keeping the groove front and center.

That connection to the Bywater isn't simply window dressing. Leopard Hounds are regulars at neighborhood institution BJ's Lounge, where their music fits naturally alongside the blues, R&B and distinctly New Orleans sounds that have long filled the tiny room. In July, they even shared the bill there with New Orleans blues veteran Little Freddie King for his 86th birthday celebration.

There's something wonderfully after-hours about Too Hot For Snakes. At its rowdiest, the album sounds built for a packed bar with bodies moving and the night nowhere near finished. At other moments, there's an eerie quality lurking underneath, as though the ghosts of long-gone bluesmen might wander through the door at any moment, strike up an argument with the devil and fight him for the last bottle of whiskey.

That's the world Leopard Hounds inhabit on Too Hot For Snakes: sweaty, loud, slightly dangerous and unmistakably New Orleans.