Cherry Poppin’ Daddies
Susquehanna
Space Age Bachelor Pad Records; 2008
It seems that, without any sort of formal declaration, 2008 has become the “Year of the Comeback.” Acts as diverse as The Breeders, Portishead, The Presidents of the United States, and R.E.M. have all released new albums after a decade or so of either being literally or figuratively absent from the pop music landscape, to mostly critical and popular acclaim. Whether these returns to prominence are to be long-lived or not, it’s refreshing to know that quality band reunions can occur that don’t involved bloated stadium tours and/or a nurse of staff to care for the broken hip suffered by an aged rocker.
Jumping on the ‘90s reunion bandwagon are the swing aficionados Cherry Poppin’ Daddies, and on their Susquehanna release, they’ve brought along all of the staple sounds and textures you’d expect from the gentlemen who introduced “Zoot Suit Riot” to the world. The big horns everyone expects are ever-present, but the band has struck out on a few different musical directions. There are some great cuts here that just might surprise those who seek to easily and cheaply pigeonhole the group. “Mongoose & the Snake” displays some heavy rockabilly tendencies, ska rears its head on “Hi And Lo” and “Hammerblow,” while “Bust Out” and “Roseanne” display Latin-tinged grooves finding their way into the mix. Yet, with cuts like the high-energy “White Trash Toodle Oo” and the neo-swing of “Wingtips,” the band knows what side its stylistic bread is buttered upon. Thus, though the band has made ambitious strides to spread their wings and demonstrate that they’re much too talented to be a one-trick musical pony, they still have an uphill battle in front of them in finding an audience and voice for this album.