Dr Boondigga & The Big BW Review Clips
'Blissfully epic jams. It's impossible not to love Fat Freddy's Drop. Classic of spirit and sound but still contemporary, their loose-limbed upbeat jams of ska, soul, reggae, dub and electronic flourishes rise to the next level on this second LP.' 4.5 Stars, Allan McGrath, DJ Magazine, UK
'The epic Shiverman is probably the most radical departure, driven by an organic, dubbed-up house beat, and featuring a fiery performance by lead singer Dallas Tamaira. Big BW airs another new direction, with its trippy broken beat/nu-soul feel rather reminiscent of D'Angelo, while Boondigga is an affectionate homage to producer Willie Mitchell's classic Memphis soul sound, best heard on Al Green's mid-70s albums.' Jon Lusk, BBC, UK
'...infectious mix of retro-soul and dub reggae, heavy with brass and fronted by the silky falsetto of Dallas Tamaira.' Neil Spencer, The Observer, UK
'Perhaps it's the genre-hopping, the willingness to engage with forms that might not be considered the height of cool, or even the fact that Fatty Freddy's Drop are from New Zealand. There is often an engaging, can't-quite-put-your-finger-on-it oddness about Dr Boondigga & The Big BW, which, along with a commitment to good old-fashioned musicianship, makes it worthy of a recommendation.' John Donnelly, The Music Fix, UK
'Joe Dukie's voice is still as velvet as a cad's smoking jacket, the bands' grooves remain luxuriously loose and the vibe is ultimately horizontal. Yup, FFD are back and it's business as usual. But there's more... There's a strong electronic twang, and a propensity to drop into lively carnivalesque hornfests that belie the band's previous, somewhat mellower output. Warming the soles of any dub and funk lover's feet as we're dragged kicking and screaming into the colder months, 'Dr Boondigga' is thoroughly indicative of the band's international appeal. Knocking spots off 'Based On A True Story', there's a depth and element of surprise that's only been hinted at before with vibes spanning from the Noze-esque party jam 'Shiverman' to the slightly mournful dancehall moment that is 'Pull The Catch'. Business as usual indeed, welcome back FFD.' 9/10, Dave Jenkins, iDJ, UK
'With a silk-smooth tenor, oven-hot horns, and a rhythm section that teeters on the edge of the pocket, it's a tripped-out electro-soul heaven.' Soundbleed, USA
'After dominating New Zealand's sales charts with its debut Based on a True Story - the group is the country's top-selling artist ever - Fat Freddy's Drop, a collection of local reggae and soul fanatics claiming Maori lineage, return with an even more thorough, lingering and tasty sophomore attempt. The oddly titled record owes its name to the members' fascination with animation and science fiction tales, but its music is immediately accessible. "Boondigga," featuring sweetly tinkered horns, could be something Otis Redding made 40 years on (credit vocalist Joe Dukie for that); "The Raft" is FFD's most Rastafied cut; "Big BW" is an R&B classic with its deliberately meandering opening. FFD also swings electronic, with its house track "Shiverman" and the German influenced "Wild Wind." British soul singer Alice Russell joins for the nearly ten-minute "The Camel" and the band closes with the thoughtfully atmospheric "Breakthrough.' Derek Beres, Relix, USA