The accent's on the second syllable in the awful title of a remarkably good album. Shagg's melding of blues, jazz, rock, and funk elements is a winning combination, the piercing sax work of PJ Loughran making Buh Ba Ba Ba particularly recommended to Dave Matthews Band fans. Loughran's playing especially stands out on the patiently mid-tempo tracks "Peach" and "Just Ain't Enough." But it's "Shade of Melancholy," a smoggy-jazz whole-group effort, that is the album's must-hear track. Its smoky vocals and uplifting vibe suggest a close affinity with Ben Harper at his best. On the remainder of the album, several individual performances stand out: guitarist Michael Preston offers the same smartly restrained melodic backing as he did in his work with fellow N.Y.C. band Mimi Ferocious, saxophonist Loughran lends many tracks just the right balance of smoothness and tartness, and guest player Mike Brown enlivens the closing ballad "City in the Sky" with a gorgeous flute solo. Vocalist Aaron Mitchell, though, is clearly the centerpiece of this record: he comes at notes from unexpected angles, delivering hits like a sneaky boxer, sometimes overly melismatic in his emoting but always disarmingly soulful. Buh Ba Ba Ba peters out in its second half with a few filler tracks, but its musicianship is tasteful and tight, and the songs that click are a seamless and highly recommended soul-rock mélange.
© Joseph McCombs /TiVo