BEASTIE BOYS - THE MIX UP I always loved The Beastie Boys until their last album which made me think ‘Fuck it. This band’s finished’, but it’s kind of shocking that The Mix-Up is actually good. They may be well into middle age, but those Beastie Boys still know what the people want. On this fully instrumental album, their first since The In Sound From Way Out!, the trio dive deep into 12 tracks of kitsch punk funk, with big (un-sampled) breaks rocking every moment. Album opener, “B for My Name” shakes with a bell-bottomed funk and the sound of MCA peeling off bass lines that wouldn’t be out of place in a Blaxploitation underworld of fedoras, long black overcoats, and hand-cannons. -****
RATATAT - REMIXES VOL.II I stumbled upon the news that Ratatat the duo from NYC that mastered the craft of electronic instrumental music have a second remix album out at the moment and unlike there previous releases I’m now a fan. Ever since The Grey Album, everyone thinks that they can remix a rap acapella and make it hotter than the original. This assumption is wrong. However, Ratatat prove to be the exception, with 14 innovative bootlegs that rival, and sometimes better, the originals. Their funky take on Biggie’s “Party & Bullshit” is a master stroke, the album also contains 14 new remixes featuring: Bun B, Biggie Smalls, Jay-Z, Slim Thug, Devin the Dude, Young Jeezy, T.I., Beanie Sigel, Pimp C, Ludacris, Young Buck, Saigon, Juvenile, Z-ro, Memphis Bleek, and Kanye West. -***
OUTLINES - OUR LIVES ARE TOO SHORT Outlines dapper northern soul remix of DJ Mehdi's 'Lucky Boy', then you won't be disappointed by their debut LP. The album is packed with good vibes and pop melodies. But more than that, it proves that young musical Paris can do more than just killer electo. At times it's as anaemic as a supermodel training school. But cut with a little more spice, as on the brilliant Now That I Am Free (with Wu-Tang's RZA in attendance), the results are as warming as moments of sunshine in our dank, grey summer. -**
