As a statement of intent it couldn't be more blatant. The twin towers of the World Trade Centre still stand proud on the cover of To The 5 Boroughs, giving a clear signal to what has preoccupied the once rambunctious Beasties and weighs heavily in the album's lyrical content. Touted as their back-to-basics response to September 11th, the ensuing War On Terror and Dubya himself, To The 5 Boroughs is the first Beastie Boys album since the visceral pop thrill of 1998's Hello Nasty.

Opener and first single "Ch-Check It Out" is classic Beasties goof-balling set to a relatively sparse and oppressive beat but still catchy as hell. The whole album is stripped down, with "Triple Trouble" - essentially three MC's and a copy of The Sugarhill Gang's seminal "Rapper's Delight" - epitomizing its old school ethic.

Sometimes, though not as often as you might expect, the songs fall between stools, either the political sloganeering feels forced and out of place or the Beasties' catalogue of pop culture references jars with the menacing beats. But, where you might have expected the likes of "An Open Letter To NYC" to grate with its "ain't New York grand" sentiments, instead it soars.

The Beastie Boys have made an admirable stab at putting across their social message, however, looking past the political posturing, To The 5 Boroughs excises extraneous detail to perfectly showcase their technical and lyrical mastery. Forget the intentions; for once it's all in the delivery.