Panjabi By Nature recently released the follow up to their debut album 'Second To None.' This new album is aptly titled 'Next Episode'. For me, Second To None was one of the surprise packages of last year. The album was packed full of tunes, a number of which impressed me. However, it did heavily rely on sampling and mainly had Bhangarage type tunes. Anyhow, the hype for Next Episode had been built up, and it was finally time to see whether Hepz (The man behind Panjabi By Nature) would deliver the goods.

Track 1 is Put Sardara De, sung by Dippa Dosanjh. Originally the singer was going to be Amar Arshi, but for some reason it was decided to replace him with Dippa. A positive view in my opinion, as Arshi headlines too many albums that are currently being released. From the second the track begins it reminds me of the classic Saqi days. This could be due to the involvement of Kam Frantic in this tune. The beat is a mix between the type of beats we got in the 90s and scratchings and heavy baselines we are so used to nowadays. Nice to hear a tune like this - takes me back to what I consider to be the better days of Bhangra. The singing is good. Only negative point about the song is the fact that it is another song titled 'Putt Sardara De'. However, the lyrics, by Hepz' right hand man Lalli Megwal, are brand new and it's a wicked start to the album.

Next up is Gal Ban Gayee, a Bhangarage number. This time Arshi is the singer. The Bhangarage beat is original, which is good to see. There's a pulsating baseline in this one, definitely one for all you out there with Sub's in your cars. Again the rewind scratch makes an appearance on this tune. For a change there is no MC'ing, which seems to be a very rare thing. However, I don't think the tune suffers from a lack of an MC. It's a good tune and doesn't need an MC. The lyrics are by Manjeet Tesi Wala, and nice to see some different lyrics again.

Track 3 is a mix of a tune from 'Second to None'. This time Chamkila's Jogi is in for a more desi mix. The vocalist is Lalli and he does a decent job, although the vocoder is used to enhance his voice. Again there's a heavy baseline, and there is an on-going 'Aaaah' Hindi style by a female vocalist in the background, which suits the tune. Listen out for that rewind scratch again (!). Not a bad tune at all but not quite up to the standard set by the previous two.

'Gabroo Haan Da' is a duet by Lalli and Arshi. I was really looking forward to this tune, as the appearance of two Panjabi singers dueting, is a sight not seen often enough in the industry. The tune is a traditional type of one. Lalli is not exactly up to Arshi's standard, but you have to take into account how long each of the singer's have been around. The vocalists alternately say lines, and both sing the chorus together - although Arshi's voice dominates at this point. The lyrics by Nirmal Purewal, are again new to me, which is another plus. After the blip of the previous track, the album needed a track like this to follow up. Good tune overall.

Hepz takes to the mic himself for Track 5 'Gal Sun'. MC Cortez introduces the track. Hepz uses the vocoder to full effect, perhaps showing how easy it is to sing a song. The flow is quite similar to another song but I can't quite put my finger on which tune it is similar to. The lyrics by Lalli are about the Heer Ranjha story, as if we haven't heard that so many times before. The beat is quite good. It switches between a lively western beat and a Dhol dominated beat. MC Cortez doesn't really have that big a role, and I can't really judge his MC'ing on this effort, but he doesn't sound that special. Not a bad track, but definitely nothing special.

'Chardi Jandi' is track 6, and sees the return of Arshi. The intro of this song ruins the tune for me. Copying 50 Cent, CK chants 'Go PBN it's your album, we gonna party like it's going platinum...' It's a pity, cos it wouldn't be a bad track without those cheesy lines. The beat is faster than the average Bhangarage track. Again Arshi delivers with his vocals, and the baseline is heavy once again. However, I can't really get over the intro, to be honest.

Track 7 sees a change from the norm. The singer, KD sings totally in English. His flow is similar to a Hindi song. I think it's like 'Tujhe Dekha Tho Ye Jaana Sanam' Not 100% on that though. The track is titled Playa and is all about how KD is just that. Nice to hear a new singer trying something different and I got to say that KD's voice ain't bad, he shows some potential, but I feel he'll have to work on it, if he wants to make it in the mainstream. The beat utilises a tabla sound and sounds good. The lyrics, by KD and Hepz aren't all that. It seems they struggled to get the tune up to almost three minutes, with the chorus being repeated on a number of occasions at the end. I had heard that this one was earmarked for mainstream release, and to be honest I wouldn't be expecting it to make much of an impact in that area. This would largely be due to the lyrics not being of mainstream standard. Hepz beat and KD's voice definitely show potential, but the lyrics have to be totally re-written in my opinion.

Track 8 is another version of Tappe. However, the lyrics are by Tari Balwanipuria, so it's not the usual 'Rabba Tera Raat Mukh Gayye' business. Although the beat is like Bhangarage, it is speeded up to an almost Drum N Bass tempo. Good to see Panjabi By Nature have their own unique trademark style. Again, the beat seems to be sample free. The MC'ing in this one is much better. The vocals are by Lalli, and he does well. It's a decent track.

Jogi makes it's second appearance on the album as Track 9. It's a bit disappointing to see this, as it was a tune that was featured on his last album as well. Perhaps they have some great affinity for this track? The beat is totally different on this one. Again it sees the return of the unique Bhangarage style. Again there is a very heavy baseline. However, there is an interval where the Dhol comes into affect. This is complemented by 'Jatt De Dushmani' lyrics, which is still one of those songs that makes the hairs on your neck stand up. This part differentiates this version from the earlier effort, where these lyrics do not make an appearance. MC KSV does a good job on this one, keeping up with the high tempo beat to good effect. Getting over the fact that it is PBN's third version of Jogi, it is not a bad effort at all.

Track 10 is just a dub version of 'Gal Sun'. A nice beat, so perhaps we can treat is at as a bonus. There's also an enhanced CD-ROM video of the PBN medley, which comes with the CD version of the album. The video is decent enough, and consists of two of the best tunes on the album Gal Ban Gayee, going into Put Sardara De. This exhibits PBN's versatility as Bhangra and Bhangarage producers. Better than many of the average cheap videos being played on many of the Music Channels. I think the inclusion of the video is a positive move, giving the consumer more value for money.

Overall, Next Episode is a decent album. It is a step in the right direction for Panjabi By Nature. There is very little sampling and it's nice to see some original lyrics in a number of the tunes. However, the album does fade towards the end, compared to the standard it sets itself at the start. The tracks comprising of the second half of the album are not bad, and would possibly stand out in another album, but are not quite up to the level of the earlier tracks. The use of the rewind sample is a little over done, as it makes an appearance on a few too many of the tracks. However, such a minor point should not interfere with the quality of the music. The baselines throughout the album are awesome, and those of you pumping it in your cars will love the sounds your subs will be pumping out. There are tunes on here for the Desi's as well as for the Bhangarage die-hards. Overall I'd give it 7/10, most definitely one for the collection.