Review: Honky Bardo - Swing Ninjas

Following my Atom Smith review towards the end of last week, the next album to be released in this busiest of months for Freshly Squeezed is Honky Bardo, the latest release from Brighton-based band, the Swing Ninjas. Swing Ninjas take a little bit more of a traditional approach to the swing style, ignoring electronics in favour of advanced musical ability and instrumental arrangements. They’re a fine example of an act who belong in this contemporary scene as a result of their modern attitude and approach, as opposed to any specific technological attribute. As such, they can certainly be considered a crossover act, and I’d recommend a listen to anyone from the most ardent revivalist to the more adventurous radical.

‘Do Ya Hallelujah’ opens the record, a bluesy number with slight gospel influences as well. Already, one can tell that the act is definitely catering to the lindy hoppers, and there’s all sorts of opportunity to demonstrate one’s dancing flair. There are some excellent harmonies, and fantastic piano lines – the musicianship on display here is top notch. This is then followed by ‘Joy She Brings’, the lead single, with its simplistic melody that will be stuck in your head for days. Again, there are some great piano lines, and the same for the harmonica – as well as an effortless saxophone solo; like I said in my recent Deluxe review, this really just feels like a band jamming together and loving it. And a song like this totally demonstrates what I mean about the vintage ethos combined with a modern attitude: there’s clearly a degree of revivalism, but it’s also undoubtedly 21^st-century.

The vocal of ‘Lovin’ for You’ is a little derivative in the verses, but the choruses are catchy as hell. There’s some fantastic interplay between the piano and organ; and throughout this record, the band are really managing to capture the feel of a live act. Then in ‘Forgive Me’, the electric guitar brings with it a bit of an early ’60s rock ’n’ roll feel. This one’s generally quite stripped back texturally; and it’s one of those songs that still manages to keep up the swing feel despite being play quite straight. And ‘Keep on Lovin’ You’ brings with it the return of the harmonica, featuring strongly throughout, and even getting its own extended solo. There’s a slightly syncopated vocal line in the verses, which contrasts nicely with the tutti simultaneous playing in the bridge. And again, the piano is incredibly strong, excellently combining dramatic glissandos with more contained playing.

Continuing on, ‘The Day I Go’ has a very retro feel to it, sounding like something from the golden age of cinema. Featuring a different, female singer with a bit more of the traditional classic jazz vocal style, there’s an apparent influence of the “sweet” style – indeed, this could certainly pass for a Glenn Miller number. ‘Money in Your Pocket’ is another early rock ’n’ roll style tune – something Sun Records could have put out in the ’50s. With its slightly sultry backing vocals, this is a nice change of feel towards the end of the record. And finally, ‘The Thing I’ve Found’ closes the release with another different singer. There’s some lovely tenor sax in the background, providing minimal but effective accompaniment, and the piano continues to stand out. It’s quite an understated end to the album, but it certainly feels appropriate.

Listening to Honky Bardo, I was pleasantly surprised with how many styles the Swing Ninjas have successfully managed to fuse. Swing is of course the main influence, and it’s very bluesy throughout, but there’s also inspiration from rock ’n’ roll, soul, gospel, and beyond. The balance between traditional and contemporary styles is managed to perfection, and as a result, this record would fit beautifully in any jazz collection. There’s a great deal of instrumental talent on display here, with the piano undoubtedly being the standout instrument. And the overall impression one gets from this album is the sense of listening to fine musicians, who know exactly how good they are, and just perform great music without having any reservations about their playing ability whatsoever.

Honky Bardo is available from 9/10/20.