Local world music act

Babaloo

Hello, Lucy!

Could it be the feather boa draped around Smith Crankshaft's neck that's led to all this mass adulation? Or maybe Unca' B's unruly kazoo? Or perhaps it's those songs sung in Swahili? Whatever the case may be, two times has proved to be a charm for Babaloo, this year's repeat winners in the oxymoronic local world music category. Actually, the term "world music" might be a tad too tame to describe what Babaloo do. They prefer "Punk Mambo-Hardcore Juju." And that handle ain't too far off, either. Formed four years ago in a Jamaica Plain basement, Babaloo (the name evokes both a vengeful voodoo god and I Love Lucy) cross-pollinate what seems like a dozen or so musical styles (including, but not limited to, samba, bossa nova, reggae, calypso, ska, and merengue) and harvest a wildly insurgent sound entirely of their own making. All it takes is one listen to the seven-piece outfit's delirious 1997 debut, Punk Mambo! -- or, we're betting, the band's forthcoming Hardcore Juju disc, both on their own Butcher's Ghost imprint -- and one evening caught in the throes of the group's incredible live performance, and you'll get the idea.

-- Jonathan Perry

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Babaloo's Punk Mambo site

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