“The sonic evolution of Beastie Boys is very clear from Check Your Head’s first track. Yes, there are the funky breaks and the scratching we’ve come to know them for, but the breaks are no longer slinky and refined, preserved in their original form. Instead, they’re blown-out, causing a beautiful distortion as if every meter on the recording console was going into the red. And layered with the live instrumentation, it creates an unbridled excitement and energy that never touches aggression. Making music exciting and charged without making it aggro is truly one of the most difficult achievements. Beastie Boys keep this up across an entire album, and the rest of their career from here on out.”