The Bamboos Rawville

• Words: Justin Hopper
• Label: Tru Thoughts

Australian deep-funk group The Bamboos blew up the scene a few years back with their own contribution to the "Tighten Up" legacy-a breathless, flutes-and-Hammonds workout that sweetened the Kool-Aid for last year's Step It Up. And you'd be forgiven for thinking that album was excellent if you haven't heard Rawville. With funk-family help from the likes of Alice Russell (channeling Spanky Wilson), Ohmega Watts ("Get in the Scene" argues for a Watts-Bamboos full-length), and Quantic, who produces several tracks, The Bamboos show why they're the golden boys of 21st-century funk. But it's still their unilateral instrumental romps ("Happy," "The Witch") that make The Bamboos tick-their tripped-out funky drums, sharp organ stabs, and wicked-pick-it guitar are practically incomparable.