Generation is the second album release from UK bad boys of the garage, house, and hip-hop scene, Audio Bullys.
Their 2003 debut release, Ego War served as an entrée to the duo, drawing fans in their masses to a sound that conjured up a cohesive blend of house, garage, raw hip-hop beats, that could only come from the depths of London suburbia. As an album though, Ego War seemed to struggle somewhat in finding its feet. Undeniably, there were a few good singles, but in its entirety, it didn’t cut it for me. These guys just don’t have the rhyming skills of Monsieur Skinner et al, so why bother?
Fast forward two years and the boys are ready for round two. With Generation, as Tom Dinsdale informs us of the new direction in which, they have chosen to take, it soon becomes apparent that we are being shown a direction that is familiar along the lines as, “shit, we’ve run out of original material, let’s rework some old song and sample it”. This comes into perspective on the second track, the immensely long-overplayed Shot You Down, featuring Nancy Sinatra, made famous by the Kill Bill Soundtrack. Fortunately however, this lack of originality is served to the listener earlier on in the proceedings so it’s a worthy adios here. Worryingly, it’s a safe bet that this single will be the unique selling point of this album when it hits the shelves in record stores up and down the UK. Without taking too much credit away from them, it is a decent mix of a pretty groovy and catchy song but, if this is all you know of the Audio Bullys, then you’re best sticking with the single. Aside from floor wreckers such as the aforementioned Shot You Down, there are more introspective numbers such as gritty Made Like That (featuring the mighty Roots Manuva) and laid back songs such as Get Myself on Track, I'm in Love and Struck By Sound.
On the whole, it seems that although the London duo has changed direction, it hasn’t served as a testament for two years away from the music spotlight. Their overall sound hasn’t progressed enough, it seems. Generation feels more akin to a trip back in time rather than a giant and premeditated leap to the cutting edge of dance music.
For more information you can visit: http://www.audiobullys.co.uk
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