Fat Freddy's Drop - Dr Boondigga And The Big BW [Album]

The Drop

October 1, 2009, 10:35 PM

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by tjtomjo [More from this Author]

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If you have not had the pleasure yet to discover this fine reggae act from New Zealand then I welcome you to listen to this band and you will suddenly become much cooler.

A laughable opening statement certainly, however it is impossible to not tap your feet and nod your head slowly to the soulful rhythms and relaxing melodies of this band. Fat Freddy’s Drop are known globally as a seven piece Reggae act. They however like to call themselves ‘‘Hi-Tek Soul’’ and after hearing them you would understand that there is so much more than just Reggae to Fat Freddy's Drop.

After the success of ‘"Based on a True Story" the band had many followers around the globe eagerly waiting for a follow up, and this has eventually arrived with as much, if not more excellence than the last album. From start to finish there lies a theme of hand claps and head nods which are accompanied by the soulful vocals of Joe Dukie; a vocalist who likes to write about his love for dancing (or skanking), the ocean & cuisine.

Whilst there is not a great demand for thoughtfully picking apart Dukie’s lyrics when listening to ‘Dr. Boondigga,’ it manages to blend in perfectly with the general feel of the album and confirms that the groove and instrument work on the album is just as important as the vocal, which unfortunately is not as common in modern music today.

Similar to "Based On A True Story" this album has a great live feel to it; the average length of a song is very much like your run of the mill prog rock track; clocking in at 67 minutes it is not an album that can just pass you by. Due to its sheer length the album does very much have its high points, but it also can drag at times and new listeners will find it hard to listen to the whole album in one sitting.

I would definitely recommend paying more attention to tracks such as ‘The Nod,’ ‘Pull the Catch’ and the longest song on the album ‘Shiverman’ as they all have a tendency to swing through many elements throughout, incorporating the brashness of horn instruments, the funk of the Guitar and even manage to blend the use of the Harmonica in a Dub/ Reggae track. Tracks such as the opener ‘Big BW’ & ‘The Raft’ unfortunately seem to go nowhere throughout and will easily sit in the background within the album. However, one of the singles released on the album titled ‘The Camel’ is 9 minutes and 36 seconds of sheer joy focused around the influences of Soul, Jazz and Blues guitar and the ending track ‘Breakthrough’ slowly rises from sombre to skank.

‘Dr. Boondigga & the Big BW’ is an album simply dedicated to those who have been a fan of "The Drop" ever since they first listened to them; the album grooves from Chill to Hip Hop throughout and will not disappoint those who enjoyed the bands first album. It is a well produced & smooth sounding record that anybody could enjoy and there is much evidence here that it is a collection of work from a band that can Skank like Suggs, Swing like Sinatra and jam like Jazz.