Contender

Before there were khaki-pantsed swing dancers on TV and zoot-suited clubgoers in every major American city, Royal Crown Revue plied their proudly retro sound and look in underground L.A. nightspots. But what began as a curiosity blossomed into a national sensation. With The Contender, RCR are back to claim their title as the Johnny Appleseed of swing. Name-checking the right cultural icons (including Marlon Brando and Bettie Page) and covering a variety of classic tunes, from a breezy doo-wop take on "Stormy Weather" to a hard-boppin' version of the Dizzy Gillespie classic "Salt Peanuts," the group has clearly done its homework. Original tunes such as the single "Zip Gun Bop (Reloaded)," "Big Boss Lee," and the title track rock harder than the songs of the era they mean to emulate but are impressive nonetheless. This isn't the musical equivalent of your father's Oldsmobile. Your grandfather, on the other hand, would think it's just swell. --Daniel Durchholz