Ill Communication
Beastie Boys"Root Down" is a vibe, this bass line is so good, the guitar lick complements it so well. My favorite so far. "Sabotage" is so sick, the guitar line goes so hard but not too hard, leaves some space for the vocals to elevate the track. The hook is probably the most memorable so far, pretty great. "Sabrosa" - sure I guess? It's catchy, but it doesn't really build up to much. Keep in mind that I'm very out of my element here, I don't listen to a lot of hip hop or music from the 90's. "The Update" - this gave me the full mix I was missing so far, with that sort of pulsing bass. Definitely works as some great punctuation within the album. "Futterman's Rule" is pretty good, love the guitars. Kinda wish it would go a little crazier though. "Alright Hear This" is a banger! "Eugene's Lament" is a pretty great little interlude. Though I think it runs a little longer than it should. "Do It" I do like this track, but the album is starting to lose me a little. Even with the risks they take with incorporating flutes and whatnot, they still deliver a very straight, even sound. I think some more variety in the beats, and deliveries would make it better. "Ricky's Theme" is kind of getting me back into it, the tasteful production centered around the very nice bass line works well. The drums sound great. "Heart Attack Man" I really thought they were going to feed the acoustic baby in me. No but this bangs. Do wish the vocals were a little farther up in the mix to match the energy though. "The Scoop" started out a little slow for me, but got better as it went. That outro is pretty great. "Shambala" PLEASE this scared me, thought it was okay. "Bodhisattva Vow" So the scary zombie vocals are still here. They work okay here, but they're also all I can focus on. Overall, this was pretty damn good, the production was probably the best facet. The bass lines were slick, and the guitar complemented them really well. The drums were a little spotty, but when they were good, they were really good. The vocal performances were overall pretty good, but I do think I would've liked a little more variety. This is just based on the first listen, so my opinion might change. But a pretty good album to get me out of my comfort zone.