REVIEW: Beastie Boys – “Hot Sauce Committee Part Two”

Beastie Boys / Hot Sauce Committee Part Two / EMI

Even the Beasties would agree: they’re now filling an empty space in the indecisive pop universe that was left bare for several years now. While it remains to be seen if that space will stay patched, it’s not a concern for the group of MCs. Hot Sauce Committee Part Two is more of an exemplification of Beastie Boys and their willingness to exert unorthodox spasms of artful rhymes. It is reconfigured (originally Part One), does show a bit of age (clever line drops, Adam “MCA” Yauch’s recovery) and even embraces the illuminating lights behind collaborators (Santigold, Nas). Yet like album number five Hello Nasty in the summer of 98′, the disc spins with a dauntless pitch.

That’s what flicks the rust off Hot Sauce Committee; through distortion and fuzz, “Say It” is a glaring revert to the basics while “Long Burn The Fire” equips animal references to impose and delight lyrically. “Nonstop Disco Powerpack” paints words like an impromptu freestyle before letting amplified interludes direct attention to sun-kissed reggae dub jams (“Don’t Play No Game That I Can’t Win”) and addresses to punk roots (“Lee Majors Come Again”). The latter half of the release however, dips and winds into a legitimate reason as to why there was a gaping hole in music anyway. Like the 1980s’ counterpart the Fruit Roll-Up, too much of the Beastie Boys can be exhausting to inhale, making you move on and eventually ignore their existence. But in sustainable doses taken at the right time, it’s lethal bliss.

Download: “Long Burn The Fire”, “Don’t Play No Game That I Can’t Win”

 

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