3 out of 5

Label: Mammoth

Produced by: Mike Napolitano and Squirrel Nut Zippers

SQN announced their presence to the world during the 90s ska era with a possessive and kitschy take on swing that – thanks to the video for ‘Hot’ – still was able to appeal to an MTV generation that maybe didn’t realize that the band wasn’t just doing this for kicks but was, indeed, fully invested in their genre.  Trading between the poppier swing and crooning jazz with tracks penned by, generally, founding members Jim Mathus or Tom Maxwell, the group sounded sharp right out of the box and carved out a nice following.  Maxwell’s departure before ‘Bedlam’ didn’t seem to cause too many hiccups in the release schedule, but the album still seems to lose steam about midway through, trading in some of its energy for songs that sound more like standards versus a modern re-invigoration.  When Mathus takes the singing reigns, the tone of the track tends to follow, resulting in some infectious swing numbers like ‘Bedbugs’ and ‘Stop Drop and Roll’ that front-load the CD.  His wife and band-mate, Katherine Whalen, as usual nails the smoky female vocal stylings, but when left without the support of the band – crooners like ‘Hush’ – she lacks a certain punch to tie it all together.  This song in particular starts an unfortunate mood slope in the sequencing of the disc, as it’s followed by the similarly somber ‘It All Depends’ and, after the somewhat underwhelming titular instrumental track, ‘Just This Side of Blue.’  Mathus returns with ‘Don’t Fix It,’ but the problem still seems to remain: long instrumental openings lead into repetitive verses and choruses, like the group filling a template.  Two minor instrumentals follow before the closer ‘Do It This Way’ finally brings us back to the more eye-opening beats and oomph that started the disc.

‘Bedlam Ballroom’ is just as sharp production- and performance-wise as any other SQN production to date.  However, as ‘Perennial Favorites’ could be seen as a retread of ‘Hot,’ ‘Bedlam’ feels split between a band doing something new and a band covering old standards.