It’s been close to two years since I received some demos from the guys in Fat Night that I reviewed here on Flea Market Funk. The Funk and Soul outfit out of Orlando, FL have just released a sweet Soul 45 on Colemine this past July, and now have completed a self titled full length that highlights this Southern band’s depth of sounds. The record opener, “Best You’ve Ever Had” channels the Reverend Al Green as vocalist Daniel Hanson pays a fitting tribute to to the man before picking up the guitar and the pace and venturing into Blue Eyed Soul territory. Pretty ballsy, but quite honestly effective, as it sets the tone for this entire record. The band is not afraid to challenge itself and combine their sound with their idols. A little all over the place (in a good way), the band let’s a lot of their influences out of the bag on this 2013 release. The record itself runs the gamut from Blues filled Rock that Jon Spencer was slinging in his Blues Explosion and later in Heavy Trash on “Sometimes”, to playful Pop fueled organ jams on “Smilin’ “, to laid back grooves of D’Angelo on “Three Little Words” and “The Warmth”, to Fela on the instrumental Afro Beat tune “Run, Rabbit Run.” The music is a roller coaster of genres, each new side taking you up and down a variety of each. They’re not afraid to wear their influences on their sleeves as Stevie Wonder shines through on “Tight Knot”, or maybe it’s Jamirouqui, but either way you get the feeling right away that they are essentially a Soul band. A little more polished than their earlier efforts and blending a healthy dose of Rock and Roll into these other genres brings something new and fresh to Fat Night’s table. It’s great to see them getting some shine this year on Colemine with that 45, that label has really put some bands on the map. They are in good company with the stable over there. For now, they seem like they are branching out from their Soul moniker, seeing where different variations of the genre takes them. Whether it be sweet, psychedelic, upbeat and beyond, Fat Night has buckled in and is in for the long haul. Check out their sound below.

Get the record here.

Like Fat Night on facebook.

Buy their 45, “Things You Do” from Colemine Records.

Keep Diggin’!