polaroids of androids

As a fan of the Beastie Boys for many years, I took the rumours of an all-instrumental album with a grain of salt. They've intended to do this before. 1992's Check Your Head was started as a vocal-free endeavour, as was one of their best-known singles, Sabotage. But in the end, lyrics were added prior to release.

So as their first all-instrumental album, The Mix-Up has, in a way, been a long time coming. Which is why it's odd it feels a bit rushed. The great thing about a good instrumental track is the potential to break the verse-chorus-verse-break pattern, since, by definition there really is no need for it. The focus is placed squarely on the music. Off The Grid, The Rat Cage and The Kangaroo Rat do this quite well, and are standout tracks because of it.

Unfortunately though, many of the songs feel unfinished - as though they were made to have lyrics that never eventuated. I have a large collection of instrumental and acappella versions of Beastie Boys songs, which come in handy if I ever wanted to do a mash-up - but I never listen to them on their own.

Technically The Mix-Up is on the mark. The (many) instruments are all performed well and the songs are well produced. The tunes themselves are fun and might make for good background music at some kind of cocktail bar (and for the geeks, Suco De Tangerina sounds a little like the cantina music from the original Star Wars). After a few listens, though, the fun wears off and I can't help but wonder what Mike D, Adrock and MCA have to say.

Rumour has it that sometime in the near future there will be another version with guest vocalists on each of the tracks. Maybe that's when this album might realise its full potential. Until then, enjoy the fact that an all-instrumental album means the Beastie Boys have changed their tour setlist to include a lot their old punk and hardcore tracks (missing in action for too long).