Front cover of ‘We The Generation’

by Ed Biggs

With their unthreatening, chart-bothering mixture of drum’n’bass with elements of other disparate urban genres, Rudimental enjoyed a meteoric ascent to the top of the UK charts back in 2013. Though they released some unquestionably catchy singles – ‘Waiting All Night’ and ‘Not Giving In’ were totally ubiquitous – their debut album Home took an unimaginative, mass-produced cookie-cutter approach to their mixture of genres, resulting in a grindingly average hour-long experience. For their second album We The Generation, they’ve dropped the incessantly upbeat positivity, which often felt like the Teletubbies doing drum’n’bass, and have injected some subtlety and mood into proceedings, with a new host of guest stars to embellish it.

Soul and jazz singer Will Heard seems to be occupying the role that John Newman had on Home, cropping up regularly throughout the album to provide songwriterly chops and transcend the niche appeal of drum’n’bass. Things kick off in familiar territory with ‘I Will For Love’, which is part sentimental anthem and part dancefloor-fest destined for chart success and sports montages. Things continue unpromisingly with the incandescently boring Foy Vance, an appallingly safe choice of vocalist, for ‘Never Let You Go’, a personality void of a track that may as well be on autopilot. At this point, however, Rudimental decide to change things up and venture outside their comfort zone. Beats slow down; cool, laid-back house tempos exert themselves; and a wider variety of instruments make their presence felt. And, while only about half the ideas show any promise, it does demonstrate that the group has more to offer than another round of stale breakbeats.

To summarise, then, the good moments: Mahalia’s breezy turn on the sunny, good-times vibe of the title track, featuring some pleasantly skanky horns, is an early highlight, as is recent single ‘Rumour Mill’ with Heard once again appearing. Its deep house feel shows a new way forward for the band, and it works very effectively here, as does MNEK’s appearance on the ambient throb of ‘Common Emotion’, the first bit of real star quality. Ed Sheeran’s headline-grabbing collaboration ‘Lay It All On Me’, the forthcoming single, lights up the back end of the album with some much-needed energy. The late, great Bobby Womack provides the vocals for closer ‘New Day’, probably the most interesting moment in terms of structure, with its licks of guitar and shuffling rhythm constructed in an entirely different way to anything else We The Generation has to offer.

However, these last two tracks really do have to ride in to rescue the album, as it noticeably begins to run out of steam in the second half. The laboured, sterile R&B of ‘Foreign World’ and the shoulder-shrug of ‘Treading On Water’ are typical of the malaise, never threatening to lift themselves out of the mundane for instant. ‘Too Cool’, a garage-based creature which flails desperately in an attempt to find a spark from somewhere, but Ella Eyre’s coma-inducingly boring vocals pour water on the gunpowder. Dizzee Rascal’s crass, fluffy rap about multiculturalism on ‘Love Ain’t Just A Word’ feels like it’s come straight from his cringeworthy appearance on Band Aid 20 all those years ago (incidentally, there’s a rapper who really went downhill quickly…). Worst of all is ‘Bloodstream’ with Ed Sheeran, which is literally the same remix that Rudimental were commissioned to make from his album X nearly a bloody year ago. Its inclusion is unacceptably lazy and cynical, sticks out like a sore thumb, and is popularity-grubbing of the worst kind.

This second-half slump aside, We The Generation is a noticeable improvement on their dull debut, and contains the blueprint for an intriguing future, but ultimately feels half-finished. Like Home, it’s far too long and baggy to be considered as ‘good’, and their selection policy toward guest stars is inconsistent and largely predictable. It’s also unlikely to win the group any new fans, since the changes that have been made have deviated away from their formula (which wasn’t for everyone, let’s face it) to something that’s not quite been fully realised yet. However, We The Generation should at least see them maintain their popularity to the point where they can offer something a little more challenging. (5/10)

Listen to We The Generation here!