Audio Bullys - Generation

Britain's Audio Bullys made a healthy splash in 2003 with their debut Ego War, featuring their unique brand of house, hip-hop, and garage. Now they're back with more of the same quirky formulas on the 17-track Generation.

The album seems to have selections sounding like every major genre of the electronic world, but almost to the point of 'Oh, that's their imitation of [fill in the blank]." Hip-hop tracks featuring the heavy-accented English MCing like "Keep on Moving" and "I'm in Love" account for the frequent Streets comparisons; "Eq-ing" has the gritty funky guitar straight from Junkie XL's "Saturday Teenage Kick," while "I won't let you down" and the title track sound like sendups of classic 808 State. And there's guest vocals that end up being tributes to themselves from Roots Manuva ("Made like that") and Madness' Suggs ("This road"), the latter a nice treat to those of us who miss the 1980s a little.

And what has already become the single that might pigeonhole the perception of Audio Bullys (given their first album's brilliant remix of Joe Cocker's "Face in the crowd") is their reworking of Nancy Sinatra's "Bang Bang (My baby shot me down)." The heartbreaking ballad made familiar to younger generations via its use in Kill Bill Volume 1 becomes a gritty electro thump in the Brits' hands, but borders on sounding like a novelty track (anyone remember the Fat Boy's "Wipeout," then "The Twist," then "Louie Louie," etc.?)

In this reviewer's opinion the tracks that have the Audio Bullys nostalgic sound without sounding blatantly unoriginal are chiefly "Bring Light" and "Take you there." The former is still a great combo of 80s pop and electrohouse, while the latter's moving and melancholy chord progression fuses hip-hop and 80s pop into a great end-of-the-evening number.

In the end, it's an okay record with moments of cleverness. But if you liked Ego War, Generation should suit you just fine.