Fat Freddy’s Drop: Based on a true story

(Herald rating: * * * * *)

Fat Freddy's Drop are on their own beautiful bass-heavy planet. The Wellington group are also in another time zone - the longer the song, the bigger the buzz. We've been waiting a while for this debut album (not counting 2001's Live at the Matterhorn), but it's been worth it.

Based On a True Story was due last year, then January, then this month, and what do you know? The lads delivered, or possibly more to the point, Mr Perfectionist, otherwise known as musical mastermind Mu (aka DJ Fitchie, Chris Saiumu) was finally happy with the result. No doubt he's even happier now since the album went straight to number one this week. In concert, Fat Freddy's are a true experience but sometimes verge on being too laid-back for their own good. On Based on a True Story there is less of that rupturing bass but it's all about perfect pacing and, even though it is mellow music, non-stop intensity. On the opener, Ernie, the golden voice of Joe Dukie (real name Dallas Tamaira) takes an age to appear, and even then it's just a vocal echo. Then, bang, Dukie is brought to life with that classic Freddy's skank. Perfectly, and patiently, it tempts us further into the album.

Then there's that intensity - not an easy thing to achieve on a cruisy down-tempo release. The difference between Based On a True Story and other albums of this sort is the songs are soothing, pounding, jazzy, phat and funky; sometimes trippy, sometimes gospel, yet always skanking.

Fat Freddy's make utterly unique music, and in the case of the gospel tinged Dark Days, the mechanical funk of Flashback, and album highlight, Ray Ray, their sounds are futuristic.

Sometimes you forget Fat Freddy's Drop are just a reggae band. That's not simplifying them because these songs have the best reggae quality - timelessness. And best of all, to quote Dukie, they "do it for the love of music".

Label: The Drop