Western Australia’s Downsyde have come a long way in the 8 years since their debut. Not only have they blown up charts over Australia, they’ve travelled the world and played at places such as India’s Mumbai Festival, and their experience really shows on their 4th album, All City.

Even though they’ve said in the press they’re trying to move away from the hiphop vibe, this album is straight up hiphop. And it’s straight up aussie hiphop, because no one else in the world could rap the piece of lyrical greatness on Calm Before the Storm “I need a pap smear because I’m such a sick cunt” and get away with it. Along with the salsa spiced Takin It Over, old school vibed Master MC and Super Heroes, the boys’ show they’re still the jump up party anthem masters.

There are also some more subtle and thoughtful tracks on All City. Fortune & Fame featuring Howling John Stone, Every City and the Summer in the City sampling Hot Town reflect on life and city living. The boys are brilliantly supported by Guru of Gangstarr / Jazzmatazz fame on Watucamehere 4, a track cautioning against letting success and greed rule your life.

The production by Optamus is top notch, but unlike say Muph and Plutonic’s last album, still primarily uses samples and beats to create a vibe, rather than real instruments. DJ Armee lets you know he’s scratching on turntables, and the beats are positively funky. That’s not to say there’s no instrumentation, as guitarist Cheeky rocks out on Life Speed featuring UK drum and bass MC Stamina. Soulfiend is a more downtempo bluesy track, and again Cheeky’s guitar blends splendidly with the samples and loops.

I half expected this to be ho-hum – not a diss against Downsyde, but rather a mark of respect to the greatness of Aussie Hiphop, which just seems to be going from strength to strength. Downsyde helped homegrown hiphop get the popularity it’s found, and yet still manage to keep hitting all the right buttons.