Audio Bullys
Higher Than the Eiffel
(The End)

I must have been the ripe age of eighteen when I first heard Audio Bullys. It was a Misshapes party at the defunct (to me at least) Don Hills. The track was “We Don’t Care,” their first single. After many drinks and plenty of inebriation overcoming me, this song shook my world. I woke up the next day with that track still in my head.

In a world full of ironic electronic music and “dubstep” full of terrible basslines, predictable breaks, and laughable lyrics, I often find it hard to distinguish if they are kidding or serious. What Simon Franks and Tom Dinsdale (aka, Audio Bullys) have done here with Higher Than The Eiffel is take all of those elements and, somehow, make them awesome.

From the opening track to the last four gems, this record is solid. With dance melodies similar to Bauhaus and Joy Division and vocals similar to Mark E. Smith of The Fall, Audio Bullys are doing something different for the new English dance scene. With two hard opening tracks “Drums (On With The Story)” and the bleepy dance number “Only Man,” the boys from Britain fade into a jumpy 3/4 step track similar to something Mike Skinner of The Streets or Jaime T would sing; perhaps they are mocking them. The golden track however is “Feel Alright.” Look out for the Bauhaus-style synth notes in the middle of the track.

A pleasant surprise of this record is that they brought back previous collaborators Suggs and Mike Barson (co-founders of British pop/ska band Madness). I personally felt this helped Dinsdale sway away from his British house roots and bring it back to the basics. If you can make it through the first part of the record, look out for the last four tracks, which will not disappoint.