There's a tradition of great London summer albums, from Ballistic Brothers' 'London Hooligan Soul' to 'Rooty' to 'Original Pirate Material'. These are records which take the capital's street noise - thumping bassbins, teen babbling, radio frequencies, the chaos of chucking-out time - and refigure it into glorious August pop.
'Ego War' is another thrilling addition to the genre. Audio Bullys are quintessentially London, a collision of 2-Tone and Turnmills, Costello and clubsounds. Or, as someone once nattily put it, Chas'n'rave. Tom Dinsdale is, like Mike Skinner, an incredibly intuitive producer, unafraid to conflate a cut-up guitar riff from 'I Don't Want To Go To Chelsea' and head-crushingly hefty beats, or a Joe Cocker sample and riotous 303 bass spasms. 'Ego War' never sits still for a minute, and just when you think you've got them pegged ('The Things' - they're a post-Jaxx Specials, right?), they hit you with something outrageously different ('The Snow' - now they're spangly disco-housers!)
And then there's vocalist Simon Franks. He's bugging a lot of people, because, like Skinner again, he hits you with his cor blimey accent and you either get it or you don't. His lyrics are basic to the point of sloganeering, his delivery's rough as f*ck, but out of this ostensibly inarticulate shouty MCing comes some really affecting soundbites. The opening refrain of 'We Don't Care' ("There's things I haven't told you/I go out late at night/And if I was to tell you/You'd see my different side") hints at really mystery and menace, and even some of the seemingly clunkier phrases ("Will she leave with me/Or will she leave with Steve?" from 'I Got To Your House', for example) are powerful in their gobby simplicity.
The combination of Franks' gruff, echo-laden chat and Dinsdale's genre-mashing studio trickery is an explosive one, and being so volatile a duo means that some of what they do collapses under the weight of their ambition. The title track kicks off like Orbital before shifting gears into what they think is bouncy pop, but actually comes off dodgy like Bentley Rhythm Ace. '100 Million', meanwhile, sees Franks attempt a more narrative-based lyric, and proves he should stick to the slogans.
But they're momentary blips on an otherwise boundary-shifting debut. Busting out of car speakers on hot London streets this summer, 'Ego War' is gonna make you think that, finally, we've got a Brit band worth adoring. What the f*ck?
by Christian Ward