Hadouken! - 'For The Masses' (EMI) Released 25/01/2010

For those who watched with fanatical dismay / rabid amusement as the short-lived / non-existent Nu-Rave scene collapsed under the weight of its own column inches, it may come as something of a pleasant surprise / horrific shock to learn that Hadouken! are back with the follow up to their 2008 debut ‘Music For An Accelerated Culture’.

Nine months in the making, ‘For The Masses’ was recorded and produced in Holland by Dutch trio Noisia and according to the band signals a newfound sense of cohesion and maturity away from their well documented and often criticised sardonic irony.

This newfound musical direction, aptly beginning with ‘Rebirth’, is a rampaging ten tracks of inane anger, in parts loosely harrowing, in others utterly horrendous and in the majority worryingly confusing in its limited shock and awe capacity.

A good indicator of what the album holds is ‘M.A.D’, the aggression of the music replicated through its cult status video in which a leery binge-drinking mouse kicks the shit out of an innocent by-standing cat a la Dom Joly circa 2000, leaving the maturity of Hadouken! somewhat lacking as the puerile “I’m gonna **** your face up” malignity of ‘Ugly’ spreads in an arc of chaotic violence.

But beyond an apparent need for counselling, Hadouken! are not without ambition; album forerunner ‘Turn The Lights Out’ nods towards Leftfield, ‘Mic Check’ among others bows towards The Prodigy and hidden within the depths of a difficult, abrasive and relentless second album are, god forbid, occasional glimpses of subtlety in ‘House Is Falling’ and ‘Play The Night’, scant relief perhaps, but enough to break an otherwise impenetrable mould for those intent on blood, sweat and tears before mum made tea in front of television.

It’s highly unlikely that ‘For The Masses’ will appeal to the masses, as the saying goes, one mans rubbish is another mans treasure, and certain to divide opinion Hadouken’s latest will either have you rocking with unrestrained enjoyment or with all the fear of a Romanian orphan.