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Written by Dan Heaton Thursday, 20 April 2006 10:56

While less ambitious than its predecessors, To the 5 Boroughs provides an entertaining ride through 15 quick tunes that continually showcase the New York act’s rhyming talents. The Beastie Boys have always taken their time between releases, but the six-year layoff following 1998’s Hello Nasty offered the possibility that the groundbreaking trio had lost some effectiveness. Their lengthy career has offered numerous surprises, however, and the pure fun of this latest release should be almost expected by this point. While less ambitious than its predecessors, To the 5 Boroughs provides an entertaining ride through 15 quick tunes that continually showcase the New York act’s rhyming talents. Mike D, Ad-Rock, and MCA all are approaching their fortieth birthdays, but this record features more originality than many younger contemporaries. They drop the instruments this time and focus on rapping, which leads to some of their strongest rhymes in years. The beats are fairly straightforward in an old-school way, but they remain consistent throughout the disc and rarely lead to any skipped tracks.

This album blazes from the start with “Ch-Check It Out,” a clever, upbeat dance party that immediately signifies the enjoyable atmosphere. Highlights include the back-and-forth verses of “Rhyme the Rhyme Well,” the Jurassic 5–style refrains of “Time to Build,” and the positive slice of home of “An Open Letter to NYC.” The New York track relates directly to the album title and cover artwork, which presents the Beasties’ strong bond with their city. This connection also comes out in the stripped-down hip-hop approach that brings their roots to the forefront.

Another significant difference on To the 5 Boroughs is the more blatant political and socially conscious lyrics, which appeared only sporadically on past records. Such lines as “I’m getting kinda tired of this situation/the U.S. attacking other nations” and “I think it’s time that we impeach Tex” are very obvious statements, but they work surprisingly well among the energetic beats. It’s probable that their commentary won’t affect the macho, preppie guys who inhabit a good portion of The Beastie Boys’ fanbase, but the attempt is laudatory. If even a few conservative listeners decide to reconsider their opinions, perhaps November will be a much happier month this year.
— Dan Heaton