I’m sure none of you will take too much umbrage if I begin this by noting that, as a collective, rock and metal fans have not always been traditionally recognised as being open-minded or welcoming of acts that embrace fun as a way of life. And that’s even with ‘No Mosh No Core No Fun’ not become a genre-wide approach. That isn’t to say that there aren’t successes – Devin has always been indulged his gastric and wacky fascinations, Mr Bungle have always defied any and everything, and others have long-since smashed down the irony door.

But, still, it’s not perhaps unfair to suggest that eccentric artists aren’t always afforded the respect their output deserves, particularly those that sit adjacent to our get-in-the-box musical space; those that are adopted by proxy (often cos they have either an aesthetic that isn’t too far from ours, there’s a guitar, or, well, they don’t fit anywhere else…). Anyway, here’s hoping that, on their fifth offering, Swagger & Stroll Down The Rabbit Hole (Candlelight / Spinefarm), Swedish eight-piece ensemble Diablo Swing Orchestra swing their way into the hearts of any open-minded discerning music fan with a taste for the fun and the brilliant. 

After lulling us all into a false sense of security with a relatively straight-forward electro-orchestral first track (he says… it’s still enhanced by swirling choirs, a Brian May style guitar motif, marching drums and sounds like a bridge taken from The Greatest Showman – all in less than two-and-a-half minutes), ‘War Painted Valentine’ and ‘Celebremos Le Inevitable’ set some sort of scene, covering parping brass over a rolling tribal Sepultribe percussion, Poppy meets System of a Down vocal melodies (minus the heavy guitar backing), a mariachi waltz, chugging metal, and deathly cello-led riffery that Apocalyptica want back, before ‘Speed Dating an Arsonist’ flips from ‘Dance Monkey’ to Big Band, all while striding with the utmost, irrefutable confidence. 

“What the fuck, Lisa… what the fuck?” began my initial email to their awesome PR peeps…

Swirling, twirling and tumbling through a plethora of musicale, vaudeville, swing, brass, dance, combating cello and chugging guitars, sweet and fun vocals, and, at times, serious (‘The Sound of an Unconditional Surrender’), Swagger… hits a sweet spot in its third-quarter as ‘…Surrender’ moves to the jazzy 20’s smoothness of ‘Malign Monologues’, which in turn hands the baton to massive strutting hulk of the dance-groove ‘Out Came The Hummingbirds’ and the Joolz Holland meets Zeppelin slink of ‘Snake Oil Baptism’ that, with its hints of chain-gang melodies, mean not a hip is left unshaken.

It’s futile to try to capture the extent of the journey in words. There are colours aplenty splashed throughout the thirteen songs, and the descriptions above don’t do justice to the fare on offer. Imagine sitting down at your favourite restaurant and having a dinner of sky, glorious peppered soup, happiness, being slapped in the face with a raw halibut, the lightest most perfectly seasoned and dressed pasta salad, a cheeky skinny dip, an airhorn, zillionaires cheesecake, fun, swing, bounce; all in the company of a kaleidoscope of Tim Burton’s Alice In Wonderland making. You still won’t sum this up, but at least it’s closer than me chucking inadequate comparisons at you. 

Look, the clue is in the album title. Jump in feet first and embrace the journey this Dia de los Muertos. This isn’t tacky buffoonery or glued together odd-ballery. This is an excellent album that does what it wants when it wants, has fun, yes, but never at the expense of not taking us through its own wonderland. 

Buy the album here: https://diabloswingorchestra.lnk.to/SwaggerandStrollDownTheRabbitHole

8 / 10

STEVE TOVEY