Not long ago, the members of groove-surfing New Zealand seven-piece Fat Freddy's Drop set themselves a strict new rule: No more jamming.

Currently working on a follow-up to last year's "Blackbird" album, the group had discovered that there's such a thing as being too creative. With each studio session yielding yet more new material, founder Chris "Mu" Faiumu decided to "put his foot down" and demand some collective restraint.

"Actually, we all kind of had to put our foot down," says trombonist Joe Lindsay, speaking via Skype from his home in Wellington. "It's like: We need to work on these songs. We're not allowed to jam any new ones."