Audio Bullys – Higher Than The Eiffel

Purveyors of laddish dance music and grammatically incorrect pluralisation, Audio Bullys are back, and despite the mainstream success of dubstep in their absence, still carry themselves with the swagger that we’ve come to expect. Generally, Higher Than The Eiffel sticks to the format of testosterone fuelled house, as in the incessant stomp of first single Only Man. Gentle tweaking of this blueprint is, for the most part, a successful enterprise; the wheezy Middle Eastern-tinged London Dreamer and baseline house of The Future Belongs to Us being notable examples. In addition, there’s the occasional moment of inspired experimentation, particularly the entirely unexpected plainchant coda to Daisy Chains. A lyrical reference to Led Zeppelin on the guitar-led Kiss the Sky might imply that the group are gunning to fill a certain Oasis-shaped hole in the market, and this album proves that if they iron out the creases they’ve as good a chance as anyone. [Joe Barton]