Papa Baloo - Keep It dDown

Hear The Track Here

That faint whiff of smacked butt that lingers around this review is because I apparently rattled on about drugs in my review of Papa Baloo's Sticking It To The Man (June 2009) and - consequently - missed the whole point of the thing. OK, furry muff. Mea culpa and all that. 'This isn't about drugs, so you cant waste the review on that subject again' I am informed as Keep It dDown enters the fray this month. Sorry, but I don't think I've ever wasted a review before but....'this is all about the music' Papa Baloo insist - and I wholly agree with them. Which is why I also wrote in my review that 'I did, in fact, like the track but I think I'd want more than a musical joke before I could decide whether Papa Baloo were in fact 'the s***!' and I'm glad (although surprised) to get another listen to this band.

After all, first impressions and everything....

Psychedelic Rock is the name of the game and - as I said in my previous review - Papa Baloo deliver it 'amiably' and keep relatively true the original sound of the genre. It's also obvious that there is a sense of humour at work here, and one of the things I most liked about Sticking It was the jokey atmosphere it engendered. It is a hark back to the late1960's blend of pop and blues and - in some ways - has the shambolic approach to the process patented originally by the Rolling Stones. It doesn't therefore say anything new to me, but I guess I am not the one this is aimed at. If you had no idea where the inspiration comes from you'd either like it for its ramshackle style or not.

Keep It dDown (dB standing for decibels, even a joke in the name see!) is pretty much what I expected given the previous track. There's a sub-Doors feel to it which helped me to appreciate it more but, in my heart of hearts, I knew this doesn't have the kind of legs I look for in tracks I keep. I'd say this was probably a good band to see live, they would probably be a lot of fun but listened to in this way I don't think it comes across as much as the band thinks it does. When all is said and done, the music is indeed the thing and IMHO this is good enough, especially if you like psychedelic rock but - given the competition out there - there would have to be a way better song underneath it than this for it to start really opening this band.

Recommended nonetheless because it is good time rock.