This is exactly the type of album that reminds me why I hate Pigeons so much, them and their damn holes. I've always detested when people say to you, "What kind of music do you like?" I've tried the "Oh, I like lots of stuff" answer, but they keep pushing and pushing, you try to explain, without being insulting, that you exist on a higher plane than them, and you vary your musical tastes as the mood and attitude strike you. Still they go on and on though, until you find yourself five hours later shopping for those extra strength garbage bags, the type that can hold the dismembered bodies. Sorry, now where was I, oh yeah Babaloo.

Let's quote from their own press release, they are "Punk-Mambo Hardcore Juju pioneers". To the uninitiated that means they blend "Samba, Mambo, BossaNova, Juju, Cha-cha, Reggae, Ska, Calypso, Rai and Merengue…all fused with PUNK! The songs are sung in many different languages, including: Spanish, French, Portuguese, English, Arabic, and guaranteed Swahili". Now if they hasn't at least piqued your interest then this review may be the wrong place for you, try VH1 they are bound to be showing The Meatloaf story, or you can catch the Goo Goo Dolls as they enjoy their popular fame before returning to the horned one to turn in their souls as payment.

Babaloo are a dream of a band, eclectic, different, tuneful and as original in execution as any new music I have heard this year. The album has eleven tracks, each with a brief musical description such as 'arabic-punkmambo' or 'skacheese'. In reality mere words are inadequate to characterize the tunes presented here, or at least by someone with my lexicon. Suffice it to say that what you get is an album that will appeal to an amazingly wide span of people. It has a reggae heart upon which are layered various textures from world music, there is something from just about every continent (maybe not Antarctica), but unlike so much of the stuff that fits under the banner of World music, this has an equal sense of rhythm and humour (British, get over it already). There is a joy about the band that is totally addictive, it is music to accompany you as you samba with the one you love, before settling back with a French Cognac, a Cuban Cigar, a Colombian Coffee and a British Beer. In other words the rich exotic stuff that makes life worth living.

As a band they share the vocals around the band, which explains the varied languages, my favorite is the female guitarist Smith Crankshaft, whose voice slides snake like over the most commercial of the tracks 'Lonely Girl' which is three parts reggae to two parts bossa-nova. The rest of the band are Jose Angel on percussion, Slim Goodbody (the only non-vocalist) on bass, Un'Ca 'B' on kazoo and maracas, Dean Martini on guitar, Pongo Jankowitz on timbales and La'zik on trumpet. Not your average guitar, bass and drums by any means.

I am going to give up on trying to describe the music any further, just trust me and get hold of a copy, and watch in amazement as everyone who visits you while you are playing it, irrespective of their age, sex, color or belief, will begin to shake, gyrate and tell you this is amazing. An instant classic, and incidentally they sell a great line of female tank-top style clubbing T-shirts. Buy this damn album so Babaloo can spread their musical magic around the world.

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