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Editor's Note: The album title, as you can see from the cover art graphic, is in Hebrew, which is a real bear to render in HTML. There's a chance, ever so slight, that you might see it correctly in your browser. If not, we apologize. Sorry, Shoom. From what I understand, the Pogues came about because young Irish punk Shane MacGowan wanted to combine the rebellious spirits of celtic and punk music. To this end, he took the great instrumentation, time signatures and melodies that make Irish music so unique and friendly sounding, and crammed them together with punk drums, bass and guitar. Then he snarled some lyrics through the hideous gap where his front teeth should have been. Shoom is not going for the "All Israel's Worst Dentalwork" award, but they have done a good job of fusing traditional musics with modern accompaniment without losing the essentials of either. Their songs are, for the most part, reworkings of traditional tunes, and even to the untutored ear (read: mine) they are carefully designed to retain the original melodies' charms. Shoom's multi-instrumentalists combine various woodwinds, guitar/bass/drums, and more exotic instruments (anybody have any idea what a "saz" or a "duduk" is? (Yes -- Ed.)), and produce a kind of folk music with "oomph". I know there's got to be someone out there besides me who, when listening to klezmer music, has thought his enjoyment of it could only be increased if it was played over a really greasy funk groove. The rock instrumentation gives a bottom end to these melodies that brings out new colors and tonalities in them; it doesn't hurt, either, that the players here are excellent. The reedy clarinet tones are made more sinuous by coquettish bass lines and syncopated drumming, and the constant subtle variations the band makes in the melodies are a neverending source of interest. Shoom is folk music with attitude, and an honorable continuation of the drunken dreams of everyone's favorite Irishman. -- Brett McCallon
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