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Genre-mincing UK lads Atomic Hooligan drop their much anticipated second album Sex, Drugs & Blah Blah Blah on seminal label Botchit & Scarper. Moving on from their celebrated 2005 debut LP You Are Here, recent activities have seen the boys incoporating a live band to deliver their heavy attack grooves and blistering rythyms. Hot off the press is their Breakspoll award for ‘Best Live Act’. So, apart from a ridiculously silly album title, what have they delivered?
Initial impressions – this album is a highly produced package of hard edged tech funk with an in-your-face hip hop/rock asthetic. Afu Ra and Genasis Elijah contribute vocals/rap in the opener Dirty. The beats are definately ‘Hooligan’ in their broken beat and synth rocking style. A high energy intro. Second track I Don’t Care starts with more swirling beats then kicks in with an indie electro style 4/4 swagger. The obnoxious geezer vocals (by Elmo Jones of The Furies) quickly become repetitive and annoying while the beats are tweaked out and crazy. Is this the first single? Hmmm, not my cup of milo.
Some satisfying beats follow, thankfully without any vocals to get in the way. Bleeped out siren style alarms and hyper exited drums feel just right on Who’s Ya Daddy Now? Next up, Papercuts features a aggro female snarl above a background of hoover style bass runs and grime beats. “I like the way you work it”, indeed. Is this Justine Berry of Hey Gravity? Spread Good Vibes has more uptempo grime breaks with ragga vocals straight from the UK streets. Really different and interesting ravey transitions in this track with some spacey chorus vocals.
Safeguard has dancefloor breaks fans like myself breathing a sigh of relief as AH’s trademark tech is applied to the club formula that made them a surefire choice for the record box. Big beats, bleeps, swirls, and techy goodness. Is that some Eastern influence I hear? Psychedelic. Weed continues the chunky beats nicely. A nice surprising big brass sound pops up on Blah Blah Blah. A simple breakbeat, and some fitting vocals make for a great track that spells out the theme – “I’m tired of your blah blah blah, fur coats and diamonds, she thinks she’s a superstar.”
String Vest contains, well, strings. More interestingly, Electro Ain’t Electro contains ‘Playboy UK Cyber Girl of the Year’ Alex Sim-Wise. Err… who? It doesn’t matter, she puts in a simple spoilt girl chant over some wicked cutting synth-arp beats. Thief contains more spritely female vocals over some more raving beats. See a theme here? Last track Too Late To Be Afraid is a pleasant rolling Chem Bros style deep breath comedown.
A mixed bag for this reviewer. Atomic Hooligan’s production ability is without question. Track by track the layers of superbly striking beats, bass and synths are shocking in their energy and intensity. The live band aspect is clearly being pushed with the vocal contributions on almost every track. The typical AH genre-hopping means almost everyone will find some love on this LP. Not a classic, but definately worth checking out for some forward thinking block rocking fun.
