Squirrel Nut Zippers

Bedlam Ballroom (Mammoth)
by Lex Marburger

Unfortunately, the review for Bedlam Ballroom is pretty much a distilled version of Perennial Favorites: The scene which propelled them to stardom (the Big Band Revival, of which The Squirrel Nut Zippers represented a modified Dixieland style) has faded, they have taken their core sound and jazzed it up a little (Hammond organ, more calypso, some funk-blues [no, really], etc.), but for all that, Hot is still the pinnacle of their sound. Most of you who were wearing zoot suits and swingin’ to that Big Beat sound are now head-to-toe in FUBU and listening to Eminem, so y’all don’t care too much. That much said, if you were gonna get yer grandparents and/or aunt something for a birthday, you could do worse than this. And it’ll give ya somethin to listen to when yer at their house.
(101 B Street Carrboro, NC 27510)