Susquehanna (album) - Response

Response

Critical reception of Susquehanna ranged from mixed to positive. While its low-profile release went mostly unnoticed by major media outlets, various internet publications were polarized over the album's multi-genre format, either praising the band for their musical experimentation or criticizing them as inconsistent. AbsolutePunk.net awarded the album an 86% rating, stating "there are only good things to say about the Cherry Poppin' Daddies new album", calling it "full of fun and surprisingly entertaining". Metro Spirit delivered most of the praise on Perry's "secret weapon" voice, adding "being backed by a blistering horn section and hotshit guitar player certainly doesn’t hurt either". Blogcritics also gave the album a positive review, describing it as "pleasurable listening", and in a later re-reviewing of the re-release, lauded the album's narrative concept and lyrical interconnectedness as an "amazing undertaking".

On the opposite end of the critical spectrum, Allmusic gave Susquehanna a rating of 3.5/5, claiming that it lacked "oomph or punch" and the band ultimately "leave the listener with little pop". Reax Music Magazine noted that the only tunes the reviewer felt succeeded were the ones that stuck to the band's original swing formula, while PopMatters called Perry's songwriting attempts at being multi-genre "jumbled", "smug" and "flat-out overstuffed", though praising "Hi and Lo" as being "absolutely extraordinary". In a 2009 re-review by a separate author, the album was given a score of 8/10, citing the blend of genres as "the truest overall representation of the band" and the Daddies' "best work so far".