A Monkey's Uncle...

ALBUM OF THE DAY
Baboon - Baboon, released 2006 (Self Released)

(From now on I'm going to try and stray away from the lengthy track-by-track reviews, and post an ALBUM OF THE DAY, hopefully each day. These albums will be a mix of independent new artists, releases that went by unnoticed and assorted classics.)

Baboon are a pop/rock band from Dallas, TX that emerged in 1991, around the same time the Toadies and Brutal Juice were coming out in the early 90s. Their sound is an incredible mixture of pop melody, noise experimentation, and tons of energy. Their original sound was a complicated heavy approach to modern rock music, but over the years they have created a more realized pop sound. Imagine if Weezer were still making albums like their first two (The Blue Album and Pinkerton). Baboon's most recent self-titled release sounds like the angular guitar rock of Weezer, but with a greater sense of melody and further sonic explosions as the songs get more room to grow and expand. Their sound has lost most of the "noise rock" elements in favor of some of the strongest sounding Power Pop ever put to record. With complex time signatures and gigantic layers of guitars, bass, and keyboards, "Baboon," is the album after all these years that has gotten me hooked. Check out the tracks "Airplane," "Saturday," and "Into the Sea," from the album on their Myspace page at http://www.myspace.com/baboon. If you are interested in hearing more and can't seem to find the album anywhere, because it is pretty hard to do, let me know and I'd be happy to send you some more of this amazing album.

For fans of: Weezer, Superdrag, Toadies, Sponge, etc.

"I seem to get something from these guys every five years or so. Intense or insistent doesn't quite describe what's going on here. More like solid pop music with the feel of the impending apocalypse. A simple pleasure that only improves with age" - A&A Music Reviews

"Baboon is an enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in mystery ... I mean, their songs are as beautiful as anything offered up by ever-popular Nada Surf -- yet they never seem to get any R-E-S-P-E-C-T and/or G-R-O-U-P-I-E-S outside of their native Texas? For shame, America!" - AreaVoices.com

"Baboon's scritchy-scratchy guitar, rocked-out but danceable drums, and wired vocals courtesy of Andrew Huffstetler are by now the soundtrack of Dallas life. This is a storied group whose history dates to the mythical days of the early '90s, but don't let that fool you: This crew still produces some of the best music and most lively shows Big D has to offer. As last year's release Baboon made clear, the group continues to craft hook-laden pop with an edge; they haven't lost a step." - Dallas Observer Music Awards

"After hearing the Dallas darlings' eponymous release it's obvious Baboon honestly doesn't have it in them to disappoint. The quintet has an incredible ability to translate energy into their music--live or recorded. This latest release, the first in four years, offers a power-pop dreamscape that spans heartbreak, maturation and distress. It's versatile rock, easily making the jump from stage to player, losing none of the band's patented vim and certainly none of its vigor. Baboon is nothing short of impressive--hell, "Breaking Glass" would probably even sound street-wise and exciting projected over a drive-thru intercom. "Into the Sea" harks back to the wailing and pants-grabbing urgency fans will remember from We Sing and Play. Harmonies abound, and older fans can appreciate that, as the band's aged, Baboon has progressed into one hell of a brutally listenable force. We've seen it all too many times: A band takes a bit of a dreaded hiatus (recording or otherwise) and the big return--the big surprise, as the usually very expensive smoke clears--is spirit-shattering letdown. Baboon is clearly the exception." - Dallas Observer album review