Fat Freddy's Drop - Based on a True Story (2005)

The debut album from Fat Freddy's Drop was originally issued in its native New Zealand, where the disc promptly shipped gold and gained notoriety as the first indie album ever to hit number one on that country's pop charts. Although the band favors the term "hi-tek soul" to describe its music, the simple fact is that most of these songs fall squarely in the reggae/dub category, with occasional excursions into ska and jazzy, semi-electronic funk.

Joe Dukie's voice is appealingly silky and soulful without being off-puttingly slick, and the band's horn section contributes alternately smooth and chunky chordal backing along with old-school organ and more modern synthesizer sounds. The mood of Based on a True Story is pretty consistently laid-back and mellow, and it's a little bit hard to identify highlights from among the album's mid-tempo offerings, but the extra funk edge of "Ray Ray" is especially nice, and "Cay's Crays" nicely evokes early UB40. The swinging ska beat and jazz flute of "Wandering Eye" are also lots of fun. Highly recommended. (allmusic.com)

Tracklisting:
01. Ernie
02. Cay's Crays
03. This Room
04. Ray Ray
05. Dark Days
06. Flashback
07. Roady
08. Wandering Eye
09. Del Fuego
10. Hope
Total time: 70:00