Big D and the Kids Table

It would be easy to peg Big D and the Kids Table as the de facto leader of some sort of ska revival. But the truth is, the band has been at the skanking game for almost a decade and a half. Formed in 1995 at the height of the Third Wave ska revival, the Boston group wound up, ironically enough, finding its biggest success long after ska became little more than a punchline to most listeners. The joke, though, is on the haters: Packed with elastic horn riffs, lung-popping sing-alongs and a high ratio of bounce per ounce, Big D's anthems are a welcome blast of pure fun in an age of crappy dance punk and self-important indie rock. The seven-piece ensemble's latest full-length, Fluent in Stroll, even has a strong (if sugarcoated) soul bent — one that ably augments Big D leader David McWane's coarse, everyman holler.