Recent Ump news, Bigger than 140 character album review.

Word on the Tweet is that the fabulous Umphrey's McGee are not coming out with 3 EP's this summer, as recently stated, but are coming out with one full length in the fall (awesomeness).

Other recent news on the tweet line is that over the past few weeks Umphrey's has been in the Studio and recorded 7 new songs. That's word from Ryan Stasik's twitter...any who. I retweeted it. So excited.

The Strokes "Angles"- I think the album starts off super, but then kind of gets a little weak. There are great songs nonetheless. Machu Picchu is a great opener, it gives the classic Strokes feel but with a twist. Under the cover of Darkness is their first single off the album. Stereotypical Julian Casablancas smooth lyrics with layers of duel guitars. My Highlight of the album is the song "Taken for a Fool." It seems like the most solid song off the album. The rest seem like they need some room to grow.

The Beastie Boys "Hot Sauce Committee pt. 2"- There has been a long wait for this from all peeps in their late to early 30's. First of all, I was sorry to hear about the album be pushed back to Adam Yauch throat cancer, but glad that he is better and it got finished. Secondly,
I saw a pic of Adam Horovitz (the King Adrock) holding on to some type of Moog instrument. That got me really excited!
Hello Modulation! And think about the album in general this way, if stir fried Ill Communication, Check Your Head and then threw in the space age spices of Hello Nasty & then you put it in front of a committee to taste it, it would be the Hot Sauce Committee pt.2.
The first single Make some Noise, if really fun in a Sure Shot way. A more grown Sure Shot, it still jumps out at you like a nice welcome back party. Nonstop Disco Powerpack is pretty up tempo, has really positive lyrics with a some sort of voice effect a modulator of sorts. OK is a whole lot better than okay. It's GREAT. All over the place.
The Beastie's have never lost their sense of humor. They do intro's like the Bill Harper Collection. It's rather a short intro reminiscent of Check Your Head's The Blue Nun. Funky Donkey is really goofy having a funky beat and rhymes with a donkey. Crazy Ass Shit is just what the name is. It's old skool rhymes. They sample children or at least those kids from e-trade. It's very well done. While Long burn the Fire is really good out there, like Stand Together-ish. The Larry Routine sounds like it's an old skool rap routine that they use to do and brought it back to shed to some light on it. It is rather hilarious too.
Say It, is a hybrid of distorted guitar, and what sounds like feedback. A lot of drums and hard hitting bass. The Beasties even seem kind of pissed off this way. Mike D screams the chorus, "Say it! say it! LET IT OUT, LET IT OUT!" Overall great rhymes. It ends in a great Mike D falsetto. Don't Play no game I don't win ft Santagold has an ethic flavor. Sanatagold brings that spice. Santagold while being in the background sounds is more in the foreground, weird.
Tadlock's Glasses keeps with the flavor of the new album. I hear from the wikipedia that it has to do with one of their bus drivers glasses that knew Elvis or something. Don't quote me on it. It also sounds like there are in space, no gravity...voices bouncing up and down. Lee Major's Come Again has a hard bass line by the one and only MCA. Has the Time for Livin' vibe but all three boys toss lyrics. The drums are punk-ish to Ramones style.
Multilateral Nuclear Disarmament has a very simple beat, and reminds me of Radiohead's Feral in the way that the voice is not the main focus. It is the way that it is subliminal. It sounds at though the voice is saying "we can work it out." Very well produced song.
Overall, I think that any Beastie Boys fan would like it. It is very well produced. Overall it's up there as a very good album. It might be a little short, but it keeps it's theme and I think that I will listen to it over and over.

The more you know....