With recent proliferation of the swing culture, it's become rather fashionable to couch yourself as a hipster or a daddy-o. But Brian Setzer's always been a forerunner of the swing movement. Even back when the Stray Cats were in action, there was a rockabilly strut to the music.

Bringing a 16-piece orchestra to that Stray Cats sound is something that's seemed to work well for Setzer. And with his raspy voice and ringing guitar added to the mix, the elements combine to form a bullet train of sound that juxtoposes surprisingly well.

The first single from The Dirty Boogie, "Jump Jive an' Wail," is already in heavy rotation on modern rock radio thanks to those Gap commercials where all those kooky swing- dancing kids freeze in mid-air. "You're the Boss," introduces Gwen Stefani to the swing crows, and she does a credible job of controlling her usual vocal histrionics. Setzer does an incredible Elvis Costello imitation on, "Since I Don't Have You," his voice oscillating as he holds out the long notes. He also throws in a vampy version of the Stray Cats classic, "Rock This Town."

Also worth noting is Setzer's guitar mastery. Whether he's playing rhythm riffs or sizzling leads, Setzer is all out, all the time. The solo he rips off on "Rock This Town" is just centimeters away from Marty McFly's guitar solo during "Johnny B. Goode" in "Back To The Future."

Lacking the spit and polish of Big Bad Voodoo Daddy or the kitsch of the Squirrel Nut Zippers, there's a blunt rawness to Setzer and his orchestra that's beguiling. And though Setzer's sound comes from the other side of the tracks, like the Karate Kid before him, Setzer retains the je ne sais quoi that attracts the Elisabeth Shues of the world. Lucky man.

-Lang Whitaker