Album Review: The Good Ole American Saturday Night
The only way to listen to a Big D and the Kids Table album is by laying on the floor, closing your eyes, and letting the noise cancelling headphones take you on a journey. The band recently released their album “The Good Ole American Saturday Night” ahead of their North American tour. Produced by Joe Gittleman of “The Mighty Mighty Bosstones” and Matt Appleton of Reel Big Fish, the album takes listeners between high energy ska-punk, reggae groves, and choruses you want to scream in a sweaty basement show with one hundred of your closest friends.
The album opens with “Allston Storm”. Through a mix of rain and thunder, we hear vocalist Dave McWane,
“Always for the people who can’t conform
You know, those outside the current norm
So, some pick up castaway art forms
But for us, we’ve always been
Your Allston storm”
Followed by an intense horn solo and chaotic, party filled energy, this shows us that if there is a storm, this song is proudly standing outside without an umbrella. A perfect message and upbeat tune to open an album with.
The storm calms down and transitions into “Right Now” a groovy horn lead number with a bass line that will keep you dancing. Ben Basile’s bass line feels like the engine underneath the song- wild, driving, and impossible to miss. Listening to this song along with the following track “More Fun” transported me to crowd surfing in a pit where the crowd is so loud you can’t even hear the lead singer- which is exactly where we all should be!
The song fades out and we get a driving drum beat (by the talented Alex Brander) building into a horn melody that takes you down “Rocker’s Way”. I know ska’s big “thing” is horns, but the way these guys drive the songs is electric! Featured on trombone is Logan La Barbera and Paul Halpainy and they do NOT miss! I saw Paul playing with Big D and the Kids Table on their 2023 tour with “The Interrupters” and the most memorable part was his crazy party energy playing horn in the pit! It was definitely a had to be there moment. Also a memorable part of this song is Alex Stern’s rocking guitar solo. I hope this one is played live on their upcoming tour!
The title track told us exactly why it earned its name. It gives a crazy vibe and we can picture exactly what Dave is conveying AND has a “Doped Up Dollies” vocal feature. This song transitions perfectly into “Little Talks” which is like the morning after a night you don’t remember.
If producing wasn’t enough, Matt Appleton also played tenor and baritone saxophone alongside Ryan O’Connor. They give a warm, steady groove underneath the songs, but especially in “Scatterbrain”
In “Opportunity” Ben Basile leads with his commanding bass and is accompanied by a bouncy rhythm from the horns and guitar while Dave drives the catchy lyrics with more of the “Doped Up Dollies”
With a complete vibe change comes “Slop” that screams grunge punk. If there’s one song that is complete chaos, it’s this one! This is a song that would have a mosh pit going crazy with strobe lights- can you picture it?
Following “Slop” comes “King Margaret” and “Whiplash” that both give us a sense of controlled chaos running through the record.
The album comes to the final three songs. “Positive Extension/Negative Reaction”, which brings us back to our more “traditional” ska forward bop after starting with a ska punk vibe. “Where you Wanna Be” and “One Like You” are the perfect pair to end the album. From lyrical melodies to one final skanking beat.
