A Review of Two Albums by The Baboon Show

The Baboon Show – God Bless You All (2023) You might think I only review bands I love.I assure you: sometimes, I have the pleasure of discovering bands I don’t like. The Baboon Show was founded in Sweden in 2003.

What can I say?In Sweden, you can hear them regularly on the radio. At the end of 2004, the band toured Germany to celebrate the release of their debut album. In addition to Sweden, the band has played concerts in Germany, Norway, Finland, Denmark, France, the Czech Republic, Greece and Cuba. For my part, I’m mostly a fan of bands that are successful in England or America.

On sites like Wikipedia, you can read that “The Baboon Show play a mix of ’77s punk, garage and power pop.Its influences include X-Ray Spex, Blondie, Ramones, Buzzcocks, AC/DC, Toy Dolls and Dead Kennedys.” And it’s amazing how much I disagree! I love all those bands… except AC/DC! And it’s especially their influence that I hear the most!!!!

Yes, there’s a Punk energy in this band. But it’s mostly a Hard Rock band, one of the styles that’s not my cup of tea. I also read “The songs are mostly short, direct and very catchy; almost always without longer intros and without backing singers, choruses or the like.” Again, I don’t know what this article is about! The songs are too long for me. “On the Damnation album, for example, there are 1 tracks with a total running time of 10 minutes. Inextricably linked to the band’s style is the distinctive voice of singer Cecilia Boström and the harsh, purist, sometimes almost metallic sound of the (only) guitar.

The band’s lyrics are often political and socially critical. Issues such as the exploitation of workers, criticism of the USA and rebellion against authority are considered from a left/socialist political perspective.” So… it’s all very well to be politically left, without being extremist. It’s all very well to talk about social problems, especially the horrible or extreme conditions of workers. On the other hand, I don’t like Cecilia’s voice or vocals, and that’s what turns me off to this band in the first place.

So I very often start with a band’s latest album when I want to discover them. Because if the last one’s good, chances are the further back you go, the more gems you’ll find. I’ve got a feeling this is going to be a long, boring adventure for me. I’m obviously going to give them a chance anyway, and we’ll see if there’s an album I like more than the others. Or if I definitely leave these baboons to the fans of the genre.

My Rating

The Baboon Show – I Never Say Goodnight (11.12.2020) 15 minutes and 15 seconds of torture. She can scream, sing in other languages, and he can play electric guitar, then switch to acoustic, sing to accompany the second voice…No, no and no!

I’ll stop my list. As much as I’ve listened to their latest album and this EP in a single day, I find this band insufferable. We all have our limits.

When you don’t like a voice or a way of singing, it’s no longer a question of listening to an entire album. It’s a matter of listening to a single song becoming almost impossible.

My Rating