Generation

Generation is the second album from West London duo Audio Bullys

Audio Bullys, the duo of Tom Dinsdale and Simon Franks, capitalized on the boom in rough, tough, and streetwise British house sparked by Basement Jaxx but brought to a new level of distinction by acts like The Streets and Dizzee Rascal. By their Audio Bullys debut, both Dinsdale and Franks had several years of production and DJ experience behind them; Dinsdale, the act's main producer, began DJing at the age of 16 and had his twelves gracing the mix sets of the top world DJs by 1998. Franks, more of a musician (and also the vocalist), played piano and drums before discovering the sampler. Once they got together, they began recording and found success with one of their first releases, We Don't Care. The full production album Ego War appeared by May 2003. Their debut was a thugged-out pop masterpiece, delivered at blazing tempos with a host of window-shattering MCs and beats so big they shook dancefloors from Ibiza to Idaho. Generation is the second album from West London duo and sees the boys continuing with their urban influenced dance sound. Mixing hip-hop and dance with a huge array of sampled genres, the album tells tales of urban living while interspersed with upbeat dance tracks.

Madness front man Suggs adds his smooth Camden touch

The double-pumping Shot You Down barrels out of the gate, riding high with the biggest break since The Chemical Brothers’ Hey Boy Hey Girl, with samples from the Nancy Sinatra song made famous by Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill films. From there it's a non-stop barrage of high-flying breakbeats and twisted vocal hooks, chopped and screwed into flammable three-minute bursts of insanely danceable pop. The title track is all overdriven Hammond organ and tongue-flapping MC turns, while the slow-grooving All Sing Along bruises a reggae beat until it skanks slowly enough for Franks to climb aboard. Made Like That, the duo's collaboration with Roots Manuva, sounds like the theme from The French Connection as hijacked by Scientist and Flavor Flav, and a slowed-down version of Van Halen's Jump is the bedrock for I'm in Love's staccato thrills. EQ-ing brings solid garage beats to a robot-like vocal that will burrow into your head. Generation ends with a flourish of great tracks. Madness front man Suggs adds his smooth Camden touch on This Road with a heartfelt ballad. Struck By the Sound continues the ska ambience with a low down dirty sax and quirky piano melody making you want to hit the rewind button.

Dinsdale and Franks have created a bigger, better version of their dance-pop/hip-hop

Ever since Fatboy Slim pounded the last nail into big beat's coffin with his Palookaville, life has been tough for non-ironic pop-tinged electronic acts; even perennial powerhouses like Basement Jaxx and The Chemical Brothers don't hold the widespread appeal they once did. London's Audio Bullys have a distinct advantage over most of the writhing punters, though – they blur the line between big beat and hip-hop, forging their own unique identity from banks of pumping 808s and slip-flowin' cockney slang. By returning to the drawing board they used to create Ego War, Dinsdale and Franks have created a bigger, better version of their all-inclusive dance-pop/hip-hop. Chide them for lack of innovation if you must, but remember, keeping dancefloors writhing isn't about innovation – it's about constant fluid movement and beats you remember the next morning. Audio Bullys have delivered both in spades. Generation, makes it clear that Dinsdale and Franks are focused on bettering dance floors everywhere. Despite its handful of down moments that are either too thickly house influenced or too slow and off the mark, Generation shows that the Audio Bullys’ brand of dance music has staying power.