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BEASTIE BOYS
The Mix-Up
Capitol, 2007
6.5/10, Good [scale]

The Mix-Up

Since their 1986 powerhouse Licensed to Ill, The Beastie Boys have been one of hip hop’s most celebrated outfits, both inside and outside the genre. Originally a punk band, the Beastie Boys have kept their instruments at arms length throughout their innovative twenty plus years as hip hoppers. While their punk roots were clearly evident on their smash debut, it was 1993’s Check Your Head that really found the Beasties taking instrumentation in hip hop to higher ground, incorporating an eclectic blend of live musical accents and a number of all out instrumental selections. Ad Rock, MCA, and Mike D bring their guitar, bass, and drums respectively and connect with longtime collaborator/keyboardist Money Mark to deliver The Mix Up, the group’s first entirely instrumental release (save The In Sound From The Way Out - their 1996 compilation of album instrumentals and b-sides) and the follow up to 2004’s To The 5 Boroughs.

Though soul and groove based at its core, The Mix Up offers a highly pleasurable mulange of punk, rock, jazz, dub, and latin music that has long given the Beasties their edge and identity. Money Mark brings his funky clavinets, fresh organs, and the ever popular Fender Rhodes to the spotlight which he shares with Ad Rock’s cosmic guitar atop a steady groove kept by MCA’s seductive bass and Mike D’s commanding drums. “B for My Name” kicks things off with a driving bass line reminiscent of Sly Stone, a la There’s a Riot Goin’ On, along with a proper organ and guitar to boot. Pinches of dub delays are scattered throughout the 3 minutes and 17 seconds of “Suco de Tangerina,” where between Mark’s cyber synths and Ad Rock’s spaced out guitar work, not a moment is wasted. With most songs clocking in around three and a half minutes, the players don’t really stretch out into any extensive solo territory here, opting instead to use the time they do allot themselves effectively.

Songs like “Freaky Hijiki” and “Electric Worm” sound like something from a record they would have sampled on any of their past releases but marked with a personality that is utterly Beastie. “Dramastically Different” pleasantly finds someone stroking a sitar (or perhaps just Ad Rock’s processed guitar sound) and is followed shortly afterwards by the albums closer, “The Kangaroo Rat,” a fitting jam which plays out a like a darker, more intense version of the opener. This album is about mood and atmosphere more than anything, as the players demonstrate their ability to keep things interesting with solid core grooves, colorfully eclectic musical inflections, and well thought out transitions that make for an album where every track rolls naturally to the next. While not as groundbreaking as their previous releases, The Mix Up is a cohesive project that absorbs the listener and makes for a perfect way of getting through a lazy day.

by Alex Viard