(The Drop / Inertia)

I was disappointed when Fat Freddy’s Drop skipped Adelaide on their last Australian tour, and thanks to this disc I now have a better feeling for what I missed. ‘The Wandering Eye’ is a long, organically driven roots song, that snakes its way through nine minutes of soul, complete with horns, soul sistas and a skin-tight rhythm section.

Fronting the band of Aotearoans are two gents, Mu (the band’s producer) and Dallas Tamaira, a fine Maori vocalist. Describing their own sound as a meld of ‘dub, reggae and dancefloor electronica’ the description rings true. The disc includes original and radio edits of the title track, plus a live ‘reprise’ mutation of the track, recorded live in Italy. The latter demonstrates the producer’s interest in the organic use of synthesizers in harmony with acoustic instruments, pushing the synth forward to lead the band.

In it’s original version ‘The Wandering Eye’ is a strange beast, and despite its extraordinary length, neither bores nor excites. It’s just a good groove, well arranged. Without a strong melody, it’s not a track that sticks in your head, but it’s a pleasurable ride all the way, with progressive changes in the arrangement compensating for the lack of compositional ambition.

The CD is good value if you’re into long, cruisey roots and reggae jams, and it even includes a substantial video component. Playing back in Quicktime, the video clip of the song is quaint but not memorable, and the behind the scenes footage is a nice additional curiosity- despite it lacking the production gloss of all other aspects of the disc. These guys have been much celebrated home in New Zealand, and if the album is on par with this single, Australia will no doubt catch on to embrace their island grooves.