Albums

Album Review: Babar Luck

[Album: Journeys]
[Label: One Tribe]

King Prawn are one of the cult ska/punk fusion bands that seemingly never achieved their potential since they were active around the time when ska/punk meant you either sounded like Less Than Jake or Choking Victim and few people seemed to appreciate what they were trying to do with the genre (kick it up its ass). Having met the band on one of their final tours, Babar Luck was undeniably one of the more ‘far out’ people I’ve met in my life; he was wandering around the backstage area, smiling, not really communicating with anyone (which I attributed to Rastafarian-degree marijuana abuse) but at the same time commanding everyone’s attention. I think he was the first person I saw perform barefoot, which for some reason freaked me out. If the UK was ever meant to spawn its very own Bad Brains, my money says that Babar Luck is H.R.

Years later and with King Prawn truly a ghost of the past, Babar Luck is still around playing music and probably still perma-stoned off his tits. Make no mistake this is no King Prawn 2; this project is just the man himself along with his array of acoustic guitars, ukuleles, sitars and other non-punk rock instruments, singing his heart out. I’m not entirely sure about the lyrical content of his songs, but I get the feeling that he is very much influenced by the spirituality and social criticism that King Prawn was known for, before it got lost under layers of electric guitars and drums. I’m not entirely 100% behind people using spirituality or religion as a moral barometer, but I can appreciate it when the message is essentially about love, instead of reinforcing dogmatic views. This is feel-good music that won’t limit itself to satisfying the punk kids, but rather it appeals to a broader spectrum of empathetic human beings.

Is he Jamaican? Is he Pakistani? Is he British? Is he a Muslim? Is he a Jew? Is he a Christian? It really doesn’t matter, but those are some questions you might find yourself asking, as the only response you’ll get from Babar Luck is an enigmatic Cheshire cat smile (with the distinct possibility of a THC-saturated cloud of smoke). It’s that ambiguity that articulates itself in his music, drawing influences from all horizons, chronicling a spiritual or philosophical journey that makes his music as infectious and feel-good as it is. I don’t want to single out any songs from this record, since like the world itself, you are meant to sit back and enjoy it in its entirety for the variation and uniqueness that exists. This is unity music and this is fucking good.

For Fans Of: Peace, Love, Unity

Band Link:
Babar Luck

Shop:
Amazon UK

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