The debut release from the Countdown Quartet was accompanied by two yellow sheets of promotional materials from Yep Roc records, which like the band, is based in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The top sheet claims that the band is “capable of generating motion in even the most groove-o-phobic posterior.” That term is a bad idea for any press kit and an odd claim from a state represented by Jesse Helms, whose case of groovophobia is rivaled only by that suffered by the nonagenarian Senator from South Carolina, Strom Thurmond. Page two has trombonist David Wright explaining the band’s inspiration in two parts: a) “I saw Kermit Ruffins and the Barbecue Swingers play at this little bar called Vaughan’s…the whole room was a party,” and b) “a record of Louis Armstrong LIVE in Germany in 1950 something…It’s a party record. Germans were throwing chairs in the air. They were the Beatles.” Of course, Armstrong’s music had been eliciting raucousness since way before John, Paul, George and Ringo were born, but the nonsense of the yellow sheets at least prepared me for the nonsense on this disc. So desperate to capture that raw feeling of New Orleans music are these boys that the disc leads off with a little bit of self-referential whooping (“Countdown coming and you better get your mind right”) strangely reminiscent of, say, “Re-Birth kickin’ it live, ya heard me”, which then leads into a contemporary brass band styled jam. The effect is similar to, say, if the Little Rascals did a few Shape Note Singing numbers on a record. It’s just not right. They give it to traditional jazz as well, complete with ringing riverboat banjo, on “Royal Garden Blues” and “Tiger Rag.” There are also soul and R&B tinged numbers and even some early rock. Therein lies the problem: this recording and, by extension, this band tries to do too much. These guys are obviously able musicians, it’s just that they lack a center. So in their desperation to make a party record, all the exhortations and shouts sound as if they’re written out beforehand. The marketing of this record will surely give focus to the fact that the band features one of the Squirrel Nut Zippers, guitarist Jimbo Mathus. I say take the 15 bucks this CD costs and do one of two things—see Kermit at Vaughan’s or buy a Louis Armstrong record. It will be money better spent.