Beastie Boys - 'The Mix-Up' (Parlophone) Released 25/06/07

It's a question of personal taste, but it's easy enough to think of bands whose output would be enhanced by the absence of vocals: The Automatic without Shouty Keyboard Man would be more palatable to this writer, for one. Yet the idea of a Beastie Boys album without vocals or samples sounds like it would be as impotent as alcohol-free lager or decaffeinated coffee. True, they've done it before on 1996's 'The In Sound From Way Out!', and the lukewarm reception to 'To The 5 Boroughs' suggests the need for a change, but the suspicion is still that the baby has been thrown out with the sonic bathwater.

'The Mix-Up' is made up entirely of live instrumentation, with the core trio of Adam Horowitz (guitar), Adam Yauch (bass) and Mike Diamond (drums) assisted by long-time collaborators Money Mark (keyboards) and percussionist Alfredo Ortiz. With a vintage soul influence and funk jams the order of the day, opener 'B For My Name' sets the tone early on: a slick groove and tight rhythm is used as the foundation for Mark's jazzy keyboard licks. '14th Street Break' continues in the same vein, sounding like a jam in places, before 'Suco de Tangerina' displays more of a dub and reggae influence, which continues through 'Electric Worm'. A highlight is 'Off The Grid', its thick bass groove and keyboard riff recalling the cut-and-paste excitement of The Go! Team and making it sound like it should be soundtracking a classic science fiction show.

Hot on its heels though, sadly, are the twin lowlights of 'The Melee' and 'Dramastically Different' which meander and ultimately fail to inspire. The main problem that blights the album is that it is barely distinguishable from a set of jams, and while there are some nice touches and they can clearly play, there's a distinct and uncharacteristic lack of fun to the proceedings. 'The Mix-Up' is a typically bold move and neatly distills the wide scope of the band's influences, but is not a memorable addition to their canon. File under 'for completists only'.