album of the week 7.4

Beastie Boys

Hot Sauce Committee Part 2

(2011)

why you'll love it: Beasties back in rare from

why you'll hate it: same white-friendly rapping they've always done

MCA, where have ya been? Packed like sardines in the tin. As a big fan of the latest Go! Team album, I've got a soft spot in my heart for that simple, corny, old style of hip-hop, and Beastie Boys have historically been the go-to group for that niche. Wisely ignoring the 2004 flop, To The Five Boroughs, the Beasties are picking up from 1998's Hello Nasty. Fun nonsense songs with a lot of gimmicks and wacky tangents. Nothing has changed from their standard songwriting formula. The trio still takes their time, makes very simple rhymes, never interrupt each other… but the production has a modern feel to it.

A whole lots of synthesized sounds crowd up this album in a good way. The lead single, "Make Some Noise" has a great warped synth sound all the way through. "Tadlock's Glasses" sounds like fuckin' LSD. The modulation dial is turned all the way to wet for "Too Many Rappers" and "Here's A Little Something For You". It's a perfect fit for the edgy madness these guys put into their songs. This album is as colorful as the cover art implies.

Guest appearances (a rare occurrence for the group) are handled pretty well. Santigold's contribution gels more than Nas does, but both songs are really good. The only bad things I have to say about this album are two forgettable tracks that lacked personality and rested too hard on the trio's rapping skills (which, as noted before, are not strong). "Lee Majors Come Again" is a welcome surprise for fans of their punk rock origins. "Funky Donkey" is silly enough to be confused with one of their early day hits, like "Hey Ladies". "Multilateral Nuclear Disarmament" is a wonderful nod to their last release, the criminally overlooked instrumental album, The Mix Up (2007). "Say it" is basically "Gratitude" part 2. The Beasties really went out of their way to please all the different types of fans they have.

This is a pure Beastie Boys album. Paul's Boutique (1989) and Ill Communication (1994) are so frequently heralded as milestones, that nothing they will ever make can stand up to that kind of rep; but this album is just as good as them. "OK" probably would have been just as big as "Sure Shot" if that had come first. The "Boys" moniker has reached irony, but I think this group is in a new prime right now. Especially if Part 1 is right around the corner.