SPECIMEN A Hate The System (Squeaky Clean)

SPECIMEN A Pulse (Squeaky Clean)

Specimen A are two teenage brothers from High Wycombe who claim to be influenced by the Beastie Boys (respect), Rage Against The Machine (ho hum) and the Prodigy (oh dear), creating what they brand as alternative dance. Not a particularly entertaining premise, you’d probably think, but in fact the single "Hate The System" and the album "Pulse" aren’t all that bad, plugging the sort of high-drama techno that reminds me of Dylan Rhymes’ "Naked And Ashamed" (i.e. the music from the Schmirnoff ads), as well as the aforementioned Prodigy if the Prodigy were actually any good (which, for my money, they certainly aren’t). The flailing politicking on "Hate The System" leaves me a bit cold but elsewhere Specimen A are unpretentious and rather entertaining.