For The Masses

Hadouken! are by no doubt the most ridiculous band ever to have released an album on a major record label. They produce the sort of music that I like to imagine Cook from Skins would enjoy and believe to be the best aural experience ever to have been created by the human race. It’s no surprise that they’ve performed at the Skins House, a completely commercially fabricated venue for Skins wannabes.

Formed in 2006 and releasing their first album Music for an Accelerated Culture in May 2008, at the time Hadouken! felt rather fresh; I’d certainly never heard like them before (saying that my musical knowledge was fairly limited). Combining heavy electronica influences and indie rock with, what can only be described as, a teenage chav rapping over the majority of the tracks, Accelerated Culture seemed like the perfect companion to an underage house party. While this may sound like the most awful thing imaginable, Hadouken! actually pulled it off and although it may have pushed musical boundaries into territory no one ever wanted to go, at least it was entertaining.

So with the release of their second album, For the Masses, I was actually rather excited to see what the five-piece from Leeds had cooked up this time. From the start it’s evident that this album has a much heavier drum and bass sound to it, which isn’t really a surprise as it was recorded with Holland DnB trio Noisia. The first track “Rebirth” gradually builds up to a heavy beat and culminates in some Justice-esque electro which made me hopeful for the rest of the album. Unfortunately, the next few tracks are simply bland with way too much going on at once and a distinct lack of melody throughout. While these tracks (“Turn The Light Out”, “MAD” and “Evil”) all have obvious Pendulum and Prodigy influences, they don’t offer anything unique, resulting in what can only be described as a monotonous mess.

This album isn’t a complete failure; songs such as “Mic Check”, “Play the Night” and “Lost” actually do have melodies and the occasional catchy synth. Saying that, “Lost” is drenched in autotune which just reminds me of The Lonely Island, meaning I can’t help but laugh, and “Mic Check” does get a little repetitive after a while. The standout track has to be “House Is Falling”; it’s unique, not a carbon copy of a Pendulum tune and incorporates some old-school electro samples reminiscent of their, far better, first album.

Even with all its faults, For The Masses is simultaneously the worst album and the best album I’ve ever had the pleasure to listen to. Maybe it’s such lyrical gems as “I’m gonna fuck your face up” or “ugly, as your sister” (from the track “Ugly”) or the continuously heavy drum and bass on every track that make this album a perfect companion for the pre-night out period. It’s definitely entertaining, probably in the worst way imaginably but entertaining never-the-less.

If you’re continually searching for that 16-year-old-at-a-sixth-form-rave-on-a-beach feeling, like I am, you might actually enjoy this album but, if you’re a mature undergraduate with a taste for fine wine and 16th century Renaissance art, you’ll probably want to stay well clear.