Concrete Playground

Large men from a small country across the way, Fat Freddy's Drop are once again visiting our large land.

I must say that last time I saw them I was a little underwhelmed, they just didn't seem that enthused. Maybe too many massive tours all over Europe and doing spots at Glastonbury tired them out a little.

Having said that FFD can be a great live act – often hitting on the sublime, and when they layer beautiful sounding textures over the top of Reggae roots, it all comes together.

Their second album, the obscurely titled Dr Boondigga & The Big BW, drops some of the dub style, picking up more on the elements of soul and electronic tinges that have been present in the Wellington band's music before. BW is a slice of future funk that builds smooth horns over the top of a boom-bap beat and then adds Joe Dukie's vocals on top – as flavoursome as a slow cooked Hāngi.

According to FFD PR, their second album was born out of live jams, and the meditative and patient arrangements of the FFD sound often build into all out danceable party jams – so it could be very well worth the gamble to catch them before they head to London, Berlin and LA.