Audio Bullys
Ego War

THE REVIEW

"Ego War" is an album that I just can't digest!
I could accept it if it had been destined only for the English underground circuit, if its sole claim was to end up in the bag of some young DJ looking to liven up their sets with something new (only chronologically speaking...).

My enormous distrust of this work arises from the moment the English press (how typical...) wants to present it to me as yet another great masterpiece, the unmissable revelation of 2003.
Adding to this inexplicable euphoria and increasing my aversion to these 12 tracks, are the Audio Bullys themselves, who ride the fortunate moment and have the luxury of pointing out to us, from the columns of accommodating newspapers, how their "genius" had already come to light at unsuspected times when, still unknown, they mixed current dance hits with sacred monsters like Clash and Kinks from the turntables at who knows what village festival.

Don't be fooled! If you are looking for someone capable of reviving sacred monsters of that caliber in a modern key, the Audio Bullys are not for you.
The only thing these two "suburban bullies" have managed to do is steal some riffs here and there (Costello and Joe Cocker are sampled respectively in "Way Too Long" and "Face In The Cloud") pasting them together with the most ignoble cut'n'paste.

"Ego War" is a big pot where 10 years of English dance music are cleverly mixed. Two-step, downbeat (Mr. Skinner aka The Streets is another class by comparison), big beat, electroclash, hip-hop infused anthems that Groove Armada had already given us the displeasure of gifting, all elements blended without a hint of personal touch or interesting insight.

With this debut, the Audio Bullys show the only merit of easily crafting danceable hits to the point of boredom, they are not innovative and even less can be labeled as a revelation and once again, to contradict the English press, you can easily do without their album.