Squirrel Nut Zippers - The Inevitable

As I was going through the S's in my CD collection I found it a bit odd that I own two Squirrel Nut Zippers albums and neither of them is Hot. I really need to pick that one up, but I think I always put it off because I think I already own it.

Anyway, with all the swing jazz bands in the 1990's, Squirrel Nut Zippers arrived on the scene as a different animal entirely. While most 90's jazz revival bands were trying to churn out 1940's and 1950's-ish big band jazz in the style of Count Basie, Squirrel Nut Zippers were fiddling around with 1920's and 1930's Dixieland. Also departing from their peers, Squirrel Nut Zippers strikes a much more authentic sound while also managing to bring a certain tongue-in-cheek humor to their music. It's really no wonder that they outlived nearly all the other jazz revival bands from the era.

The Inevitable is Squirrel Nut Zippers debut, but you would hardly know it. They sound like an old jazz band that has played together for decades. Bend an ear to a tune like "You're Driving Me Crazy" and you'll know what I mean. It's a song so perfectly crafted in its intent you can practically hear flappers dancing to it. There really is nothing like Squirrel Nut Zippers in modern music, so you owe it to yourself to give 'em a listen.