NEWHAM GENERALS "Generally Speaking" (Dirtee Stank) seven / ten

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From a dark and dingy corner of the Forest Gate area of East London crawls grime duo Newham Generals, all signed up to Dizzee Rascals Dirtee Stank label. And, while the grime movement is generally still considered an underground phenomenon, Messrs Footsie and D Double E seem to want to push into the limelight with a hybrid of the pop nous of The Mitchell Brothers (that's Teddy and Tony rather than Phil and Grant) and the dark street music first showcased on the early efforts of their mentor and boss Dizzee Rascal.

Grime, it must be said, isn't exactly everyone's cup of tea - some can't get over the vocals which initially sound like a load of rapidly delivered, badly pronounced words, while others can't get with its schizophrenic melding of reggae, drum 'n' bass, UK garage and rap.

I, on the other hand, find it fascinating and view the construction of the tunes as an enthralling art form. Those almost incomprehensibly spat out words are hard hitting yet superbly effective in portraying the subject matter they refer to seeing that everyday life is probably grimes most relevant inspiration. The backing tracks are also suitably harsh and their attraction lies in their under produced nature. Keeping it real and raw is where it's at. Keeping it street. Keeping it urban. Hell... it's almost punk.

Dizzee Rascal himself shows up to add aural muscle to 'Violence' and 'Pepper' and while the album as a whole lacks the originality, impact and sheer nerve of their label boss' first couple of albums it does serve as an extension to the genre and I'd certainly much prefer listening to this than Dizzee's current pop/dance adventures with Calvin Harris and Armand Van Helden.

Trevor Meehan
www.myspace.com/newhamgenerals

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