Save My Soul

Reviewed by:
David Peisner

Remember swing? We’re not talking about its original Louis Armstrong–Duke Ellington incarnation, but rather that brief pop-culture hiccup around 1997, when bands like the Cherry Poppin’ Daddies and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy were yanked from the musical fringe into the mainstream on the wings of a “neo-swing revival.” Well, those wanting a return trip to those halcyon days of the mid-to-late ’90s need look no further than the latest offering from Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Save My Soul. There’s a Latin flavor to “I Like It” and some New Orleans funk scattered about, but for the most part, (ABC) BBVD (East Coast family) are traditionalists, eschewing cross-pollination with ska and punk for a mix of horn-led big-band arrangements (“Zig Zaggity Woop Woop”), danceable, flapper-jazz rave-ups (“Simple Songs”) and smoky, Sinatra-style ballads (“Don’t You Feel My Leg”). We’ll give BBVD credit for sticking to their guns long after the spotlight has moved on to other subgenres, but it’s still hard to shake the feeling that the band’s connection to swing has as much to do with campy humor as it does music.