Fat Freddy’s Drop
The Drop
2010-09-28
These skilled Kiwis slowly fan the fire as they cook up deep grooves and brass-bolstered dub reggae on Fat Freddy’s Drop: Live at the Roundhouse The performance enriches the band’s songs, which are taken mostly from its previous studio album Dr Boondigga & Big BW, turning them into lush, simmering jams laid out across ten-minute-plus enterprises.
The sounds of the audience in London’s Roundhouse Theatre are often restrained or muted which hampers the character expected from a live recording. However, singer Joe Dukie’s voice induces a reverie which renders time and space inconsequential. Overall, the songs are less electronic and more organic than the studio versions allowing Fat Freddy’s Drop to reveal its authentic dub roots.