Boom Boom Boom Music Review by: Rob Tokyo

By • 10 years ago • Music, Earth in a Beaker

Amid the candle light painted backdrop of mixed drinks and ambient small talk, a slow hymn methodically starts to take control over the gathered mass of downtown hipster archetypes and art gallery wallflowers. A slender electric upright bass caresses the nocturnal vibe with a pulsating line that immediately triggers the gyration of hips in time. The low purring rumble of a Cajon hand drum seductively patters its’ way into the mix accompanied by a lethargic ride cymbal to complete this eclectic jazz fusion trifecta known as BOOM BOOM BOOM.

Don’t let the name fool you though. These guys are silky smooth with their delivery and the perfect complement to an Old Fashioned paired with conversations of Vonnegut. Routinely including local musicians keep BOOM BOOM BOOM’s shows oozing with unpredictability as I witnessed last Friday at the album release shindig for their third studio venture Wild Inside. Nestled in the sultry lair of Ebanos Crossing, BOOM continuously kept the crowd energized with styles varying from east African world music to old school rhyme spitting to a type of bold brewed coffeehouse jazz funk that only they can produce. Teamed with L.A. multi instrumentalists Trevor Menear and Shiben Bhattcharya, suave percussionist Tamir Barzilay and rounded out by Peter Adams gracing the piano, BOOM definitely pulled no punches with the amount of talent seething from the pores of everyone onstage.

With an ongoing residency at popular Hollywood dive Piano Bar every Saturday around 10ish and regular gigs around the Los Angeles area BOOM stays actively seeking out new souls to touch with their own form of musical evangelism. Though the songs on their newly released album Wild Inside have been performed for years locally, it’s truly a treat for everyone outside of the L.A. bubble to relish these masterful tunes.

Spearheaded by Dylan Cooper (far right) plucking the upright bass, fronted by Joe Greene (middle)
lacing steamy vocals over laidback guitar riffs, topped off with Marlon Grace’s (cuddled up on me) heavy petting of the Cajon, BOOM BOOM BOOM comes together like some sort of mythical musical messiah on a mission to massage their mellow message into your medulla oblongata.