Review: The Yoots 'Sing Along With The Yoots'

THE YOOTS
Sing Along With The Yoots
[Economy Records]

Call this novelty music at your peril! The Yoots are a veritable supergroup of homegrown talent, courted and corralled by Fat Freddy's Drop trombonist Hopepa aka Joe Lindsay - yep, the one with the big guts who wears tiny shorts and singlets on stage. Lindsay formed The Yoots back in 2006 with his brother Sam, alongside Freddy's cohorts Iain Gordon and Toby Laing, Mike Fabulous aka Lord Echo, and a bunch of others. Working the local live circuit hard with their inspired blend of calypso-ska and country-soul, The Yoots embraced music from East Africa to the Caribbean. However, early in 2010, The Yoots began looking at the musical traditions from their own homeland. Thusly, their debut album Sing Along With The Yoots, is jam-packed with reworked classic Maori tunes from Hoki Mai to Tutira Mai via E Nga Iwi, Me He Manu Rere and more. The true New Zealand songbook.

4 and 1/2 stars from 5