Bedlam Ballroom - Squirrel Nut Zippers
Bedlam Ballroom Image
Metascore

Generally favorable reviews - based on 5 Critics What's this?

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 5
  2. Negative: 0 out of 5
  1. Funky is the surprising quality of this work, which is why the album stands out among the group's past efforts.
  2. Bedlam Ballroom is one hell of a hot musical night out on the town.... the sort of jazzy, bluesy stew that made the Zippers so cutting in the first place -- untrendy roots music that somehow got trendy again at the end of the 20th century.
  3. On their fourth album, Bedlam Ballroom, the Zippers have concocted another stew of lively dance music. Problem is, with so many people having jumped on the swing revival bandwagon, the group's new material sounds dated. And not in a good way, either -- it merely recalls a fad, rather than evoking the bevy of twentieth-century American music styles the Zippers have long been in love with.

See all 5 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 1
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 1
  3. Negative: 0 out of 1
  1. AndyC.
    7
    It's a decent album, and if I hadn't heard what they're capable of in their middle two albums "Hot" and "Perennial Favorites", I may have rated it a bit higher. As it is, it's a bit of a disappointing return to a style similar to their first album rather than a furthering of the other two. As it stands, their best album is Perennial Favorites. Expand
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