BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT
If it’s The Prodigy of Firestarter and Smack Your Bitch Up that gets your adrenalin pumping, here’s good news: No Tourists appears to have been written with 1997’s The Fat Of The Land in mind, and while it isn’t a complete reversion to their earliest days, it takes no chances keeping loyal fans on board: Fight Fire With Fire, for instance – featuring American hip-hoppers Ho99o9 – leaves no doubt as to who the original “trouble starter” was. Aggression levels are therefore dialled up to 11, Liam Howlett’s beats landing with force, and 10 rounds prove pretty exhausting… especially the bruising Champions Of London, which consists of little more than a brutal drum ’n’ bass rhythm, distorted keyboard riff and Charly-like amphetamine-fuelled, sped-up voices. Even making it through opening one-two combo Need Some1 and Light Up The Sky takes courage. Don’t, however, throw in the towel before Barns Courtney’s acid flashbacks on Give Me A Signal.