See: Fat Freddys Drop - Clean the House Video

It’s difficult when writing about Fat Freddy’s Drop to pigeonhole them. Their music takes so many twists and turns and draw in so many thinks that it constantly messes with your mind. (well, it constantly messes with my mind, anyway) This seven-headed soul monster (before you think how brilliant that is, it’s how they describe themselves, I just stole it) are preparing for the release of their third album, Blackbird which comes out in the last week of June. Maybe, this record will finally cement their position as the greatest band ever from New Zealand (cue various arguments).

New single Clean the house is a laid back slice soul, with its lazy, summery feel hiding slightly darker lyrical content. Squelchy guitars eventually give way to a brass-thick arrangement that keeps this downtempo number cool, and more importantly, funky. It’s an immediate head-nodder, and the more you revisit it, the more classic it sounds.

The band have employed Mark Williams to provide a messed up (there they go again) grindhouse style movie, complete with cards, guns, drinks and cars. To make it though they’ve teamed up with master puppeteer (yes, puppeteer – you see what they do to you now?) Jon Coddington, whose theatrical puppet homage to Pulp Fiction was so much admired at the 2012 Wellington Fringe. Coddington painstakingly mad marionettes of each member of the band (no doubt cursing his luck they were a seven piece..) before adding various appendages in instruments.

Williams commented on the video, saying ‘The Marionettes are so amazing it wasn’t until the second day of shooting that I realised I wasn’t working with the ‘band’. Their live section performance is the best of their career and this video proves that not only are they excellent musicians, but they can really act, too’. Not him as well.

The video is brilliant, funny, silly and clever all at the same time. The song is a classic. But it together and this could be one of the collaborations of the year. No strings attached.