Hot Sauce Committee Part 2 Parlophone****

Now more than ever in their lengthy career, the Beastie Boys stick out like a dislocated shoulder in the hip-hop landscape. Listening to their seventh album (the first since 2004's solid To the Five Boroughs), you get the strong sense they really don't give a fig any more about that side of the game. Instead what you get is a ripping great album from three old-school rappers ("Grandpa has been rapping since '83," chuckles Ad-Rock at one stage) who've gone back to the Paul's Boutiqueand Ill Communicationschool. This is just what you'd imagine – and hope – a Beastie Boys album would sound like: smart-ass rhymes ( Nonstop Disco Powerpack), slamming grooves ( Make Some Noise), sussed collaborations (Santigold and Nas make appearances) and punk-rock shape-throwing ( Lee Majors Come Again). See beastieboys.com

Download tracks: Too Many Rappers, Don't Play No Game That I Can't Win, Make Some Noise