Audio Bullys Generation

Somewhere there's a planet whose life forms exist solely because of a chemical reaction between the atmospheric pressure and the incessant beat of house music. Scientists believe this planet's species secretly invaded Earth more than a decade ago and planted a seed amongst our youth. House music reigned supreme for a number of years, but the chemical reactions weren't the same, and it has since has slowly dissipated. Something needed to change in order for these extraterrestrials to live on Earth, and it was the beats.

In 2003, Tom Dinsdale and Simon Franks, under the guise of Audio Bullys, created a sound that gave this dying galactic society new hope. A mixture of house, hip-hop and garage, the sound rarely combusts properly and is commonly referred to as big beat. Their 2003 debut, Ego War,was a collection of songs similar to Fatboy Slim's or Basement Jaxx's. Big beat, as it turned out, wasn't the savior our intergalactic friends needed, but it did create a fresh sound for the dance community.

Audio Bullys' sophomore release, Generation, makes it clear that Dinsdale and Franks have given up on trying to save the extraterrestrials and are focused on bettering dance floors everywhere. The U.K. club hit "Shot You Down," featuring samples from the Nancy Sinatra song made famous by Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill films, showcases the Bullys' signature thumping beats, guaranteed to shake galactic rumps from here to Andromeda. "EQ-ing" brings solid garage beats to a robot-like vocal that will burrow into your head, and the Bullys show their softer side on "I'm In Love," which is more Her Space Holiday electronica than big beat.

Audio Bullys may not have been able to save the aliens, but Dinsdale and Franks have given the people of Earth a reason to dance guilt-free. 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. The only real problem is this: What do we do with these dying house-music extraterrestrials?

Video:

"Shot You Down Video"

"I'm In Love Video"

Audio:

"Take You There"

"Generation"

"I'm In Love"

"EQ-ing"

Astralwerks Web site:http://www.astralwerks.com/

Audio Bullys Web Site:http://www.audiobullys.co.uk/

Review by Jack Booty