Fat Freddy’s Drop – Dr Boondigga and The Big BW Review
Oh, you Northern Hemisphere-ans. How I envy you: while you enjoy your summer time in the sun, I’m freezing my behind, snuggled up in several layers of clothes, as I devour coffee after coffee, in the middle of a New Zealand winter. So, when I feel like winter is squeezing the life source out of me, I thank the dub Gods above for deciding now is a good time for Fat Freddy’s Drop to release their second album, Dr Boondigga and The Big BW.
The Big BW is the group’s four-year follow up to their killer debut, Based On A True Story, an album drenched with sun-soaked summer anthems that has 120,000 local sales and counting – while that figure may seem infinitesimal to overseas records, you have to remember, New Zealand is the country where the number of sheep (and cows, I believe) outnumber the people.
The Big BW’s formula hasn’t changed one bit from Based On A True Story’s winning medley of soul, blues, jazz, dub, funk, and everything in between. Tracks like Shiverman indicate more of a relaxed feel to Fat Freddy’s sound, as its eight minutes of free spirited-ness goes off in all weird directions that work well nonetheless.
Horn-drenched Pull The Catch jazzes things up while another beloved track The Nod hits you with its dub-infused goodness. The Camel, easily my favourite on the album, speaks to the heart with front man Joe Dukie’s honeyed lyrics over the sun shining after the winter months alongside the guitar riffs funking it up.
While the group’s summer attitude works on most of the tracks like reggae-related The Raft, the relaxed attitude can get a little boring, with first track The Big BW being so cruisy that it loses its funk and soul. The same can be said for track Breakthrough – the two minute intro seems a little unnecessary on an otherwise brilliant song.
So while this album will no doubt help kick summer into gear in the coming months, and hopefully for you too, Dr Boondigga will remain on constant replay through these cold times to save me from my winter depression. An eight out of ten.
Fat Freddy’s Drop – Pull The Catch
Fat Freddy’s Drop – The Nod
Fat Freddy’s Drop – The Camel
P.S. Here is a little something to give you an idea of how outstanding their debut was. This track was number one on the charts for weeks. Not bad for a group who recorded it in a basement studio.
Fat Freddy’s Drop – Wandering Eye
Tags: album
