THE BAMBOOS - Rawville - 2007 - Album review

THE BAMBOOS – Rawville – 2007 – Album review
HIGHLIGHTS: Bring It Home – Get In The Scene – My Baby’s Cheating - Rawville
SOUNDBITE: 'I been told that you're keepin it outta sight/ Someone say hit me..'
RATING: 4/5
Rawville. Where’s that then? Fucked if I know, but it conjures a picture of spit and sawdust clubs on sultry evenings in big U.S. cities at the ass-end of the sixties where the disenfranchised got down to a new, raw and funky sound. Y’know - the sort of joints you might find everyone, including the bar staff and doormen, doing the ‘Camel Walk’ to likes of James Brown, Dyke and The Blazers and The Meters. In other words: Original. Super-heavy. And very. ‘Raw’. F.U.N.K. In latter days, a substantial number of contemporary bands have striven to emulate these funk gods with varying degrees of success. To the novice, many of these new bands may appear to have captured the ‘authentic sound’ of ‘raw’ super-heavy funk. However, to more disturbing funk obsessives like myself, the success of a modern ‘deep funk’ record rests on how closely it captures that original rawness and avoids the slightest hint of what some (incorrectly) call ‘acid jazz’ – but which is properly referred to as ‘bland shite’. Presumably the name of this LP was meant to evoke the classic original funk sound to which The Bamboos aspire. However, perhaps because Melbourne’s (and, to be fair, one of the world’s) finest contemporary funk bands have gone for a greater variety of styles than on first LP Step It Up, some of the instrumental tracks on Rawville, particularly opener The Bamboos Theme, have (to me), just the faintest whiff of the evil stench of Incognito and The Brand New Heavies. Now don’t get all sensitive – it’s not something to worry about overly, it’s just that one or two tracks are either a bit too layered or a bit too studied and uptight to be truly ‘raw’ though having said that, the title track is a phat slice of Hammond-featuring Meters-style action that will rock joints without even breaking a sweat. Make no mistake - overall this is a solid modern deep funk LP that is all the better for an increase in vocal cuts this time around and it’s these you’ll want the LP for. Alice Russell’s superb sister soul action on second track Bring It Home completely quashes initial concerns and singers Kylie Auldist and Tyra Hammond capably take centre stage for two more seventies-sounding tracks. But the real bad boy is the tag team of Fallon Williams’ gravelly vocal and a wicked horn riff from the band on My Baby’s Cheating resulting in a mighty funk bomb from just like back in the day. Rapper Ohmega Watts also steps up to the mic on two occasions – to a) demonstrate that The Bamboos have a record collection that actually includes stuff after 1978 and b) supply competent verse on the piccolo-tastic and impressively catchy Get In The Scene although on Rockin It he doesn’t sound like he’s that bothered. If you’re particularly down with Breakestra, Quantic and the like you’ll no doubt think I’ve been a slightly harsh – but like I said – I’m a disturbing funk obsessive. And – 4 out of 5 is pretty damn respectable.
Out now
Listen toThe Bamboos - Rawville