On their second album, produced by Dutch Godlike producers NOISIA (so massive they have everything in capital letters), Hadouken! not only avoid the dreaded sophomore slump, but make a leap akin to what Godfather II did to Godfather one (or House Party III made to House Party II, yo!)

Easily the UK’s deft response to America‘s BrokenCYde, Hadouken! show a massive leap forward in maturity in this album, with album opener ‘Rebirth’ blowing away from the water any “rocking” piece that low-rent acts like Pendulum have tried to do and fail in the past years. That drone synth, those distorted voices, that crescendo!!! Such power in just an opening track and my knees are already trembling in anticipation.

The vocals, oh, the vocals. They are not delivered in a POWERFUL, ZESTY drone, no siree-bob, it’s all a raw energy that few bands can convey in their recordings. Can Muse or Green Day do this? I think not. I know not.

‘Turn the lights out‘, the lead single is a celebration of love with its deep meaningful refrain of “GO GO GO!”. If Shaun Ryder from the Happy Mondays was considered a lyrical genius for his “good good good good double double good!” poetry, how can you not appreciate how is the refrain “this is your last chance” repeated several times, avoiding the law of diminished returns?

‘M.A.D.‘ is Hadouken! being socially responsible, clearly talking about the woes of urban Britain. Racial seggregation, alcohol, violences against grannies. The boys clearly have been reading to the Sun and Daily Mail’s op-eds. These boys are way past Page 3, mark my words!

Check ‘Ugly’, a beautiful tribute to M.C. Hammer’s ‘Can’t touch this‘. “You take it on the chin!” yells James Smith, with an “oooh Ooooh” chorus that rivals the Dirty Projectors‘ postmodernistic-transgressive music as the bonafide musical statement of this century.

Whereas other bands have to resort to posturing theatrics (30 seconds to mars), bravado (Creed) and celebrity impersonation (La Roux), Hadouken! are a truly original band, NEVER copying someone’s else style, having their fingers FIRMLY put on the pulse of this generation, a generation that WILL NOT bow down to their parents wishes, that will listen to this beautifully over compressed music in their mobiles in the back of a bus while sipping WKD.

Grimie? Bah, this is music that goes beyond genres. The “grime” is only talking about the state council states and probably the state of the ear buds of most of Hadouken!’s fans.

Hadouken! are not only TRUE musicians representing the best of the UK’s music industry, but they are also the true successors of The Prodigy, Rage Against the Machine and Street Sweeper Social Club. They have the attitude, they have the rhythm and, MARK MY WORDS, they have the talent.

Rating: MINT/10 innit? Likesay.

It’s on spotify, innit?

If this album were a David Bowie album it would be: Wot’s dat? Da ain’ quali’ee, innit? Jus’ sum old man!

—Sam

(Editor’s note: at the moment of receiving this review, we found that Sam was lying in the floor of his room, with 4 bottles of White Lightning, a tin of glue and several sausage roll wrappers in the room. We assume he had a breakdown somewhere while listening to this shit, so disregard any good things he’s said about this fuckin’ awful excuse of an album- Quinto)