Maybe the founding members of Squirrel Nut Zippers (Jim Mathus and Katharine Whalen) were predicting the giant sucking-sound that would follow grunge when they decided to toss away their rock bands, move from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, to a small town nearby, and pick up banjos and trumpets in 1993. Whatever it was that motivated the pair--plus the other quartet of guys who became the Zippers--to shun the pervasive crunchy power-pop-punk sound of Chapel Hill, it's worked out well for them; since the 1995 release of the band's debut, The Inevitable, kids all over the country have been pogo-ing to swing music. While The Inevitable isn't charting super-fresh musical territory, the Zippers' vivacious take on the Big Band sound of the 1920s and '30s has the nutty appeal of a vintage dress worn with Doc Martens. --Megan O. Steintrager
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