Moom were a fantastic prog/jazz/psych band that released two fine albums on Delerium Records in the mid to late nineties.
Actually, Moom hail from my hometown of Northampton, England, so for anyone who's reading this from Northampton (and I know there's a few of you!), let's talk hometown for a moment. 'Toot' was recorded and mixed at 'The Egg Room', the Northampton based recording studio belonging to Robert John Godfrey of 'The Enid' fame. RJG, along with Mike Pool and Max Read, also produced and mixed the album. I mentioned that a few of you reading this are from Northampton. An even smaller number of you will be aware that a band in which I played guitar also recorded a demo at The Egg Room sometime in the mid nineties, where we witnessed the surreal sight of Robert John Godfrey dancing suggestively in front of our rather fey bassist as he was attempting to get his bassline right for the umpteenth time. Was RJG attempting to seduce him? Or was RJG merely responding to our bassist's advances? Hmm...we'll never know for sure, but I know what I think. What's this got to do with Moom and the matter at hand? Absolutely nothing - can't a blogger reminisce for a moment?
Anyway, let's get back to 'Toot'. It's hard to pin down any sort of influences, but it sounds like Moom have spent many a lazy afternoon listening to and jamming along with a shedful of prog, psych and jazz, then reinterpreted it all in a style of their own. Sometimes, they resemble west-coast psychedelia, especially The Grateful Dead and Spirit. Other times, the Canterbury scene comes to mind, stuff like The Soft Machine, Kevin Ayers and Caravan. Throw in some Zappa, add a dash of Funkadelic and you're somewhere close to the sound of 'Toot'. The musicianship is extremely accomplished, the compositions are often very complex, and the production is as clear as a shimmering summer afternoon...which kind of describes the music too, albeit a very English and willfully surreal one. It's a great album and one of Delerium's finest releases.
Track listing:
1. Prelude
2. Sally
3. Astronought
4. The Void is Clear
5. Babbashagga
6. The Higher Sun
7. The Crocodillian Suite
i) The Egg
ii) The Crocodillian
iii) Mayam Riff
8. Waiting For The Sphere
9. Eye
10. I Can't Remember The '60s......I Must Have Been There
Listen to it here, then go and buy it here
