Aural pleasure: the Beasties and Gabby Glaser--formerly of Luscious Jackson--are back with two deliriously good summer releases.

BEASTIE BOYS The Mix-up (Capitol)

GABBY GLASER Gimme Splash (Latchkey Recordings)

Considering they initially found fame as loudmouths rapping over sampled tracks, the Beastie Boys have proved surprisingly adept at shaping their own instrumentals. They also seem to take perverse pleasure in changing musical tack every few records. So it comes as little surprise that The Mix-up, the follow-up to their 2004 return to form, To the 5 Boroughs, sets aside the microphones and offers up a dozen cuts free of raps and rhymes.

Aided by keyboard whiz Money Mark and percussionist Alfredo Ortiz, the NYC trio whip up quirky cuts that dip their toes in jazz, funk, and Latin. All the instrumentation is five; no samples, no scratches. "Suco de Tangerina" bobs along to a reggae pulse topped with a dash of spy music, "Off the Grid" recalls the blaxploitation scores of Curtis Mayfield, and "Dramastically Different" scampers along like a jet-set cat burglar caper yanked off '60s TV. While The Mix-up lacks the commercial punch of more mainstream Beastie releases, it does a stunning job of mimicking the sort of overlooked LP cuts that were the stock-in-trade of every South Bronx DJ at the birth of hip-hop.

Gabby Glaser was one of the original members of Luscious Jackson, the all-female ensemble that was a flagship act on Grand Royal, the Beasties' now-defunct label. Like her old bosses, Glaser was combining dance grooves and rock long before the Brooklyn hipsters jumped on that party train. Jettisoning the navel-gazing inclinations of her former band, she returns to that mishmash aesthetic on her solo debut, Gimme Splash.

The sound throughout the 11-song set is muddy and lo-fi, ideal for blasting on blown car stereos. But don't mistake that sloppiness for lack of attention; it just adds more grit to her playful originals. Opener "Spirit of Long Island," with its catchy guitar licks and simple chorus, cries out for a poolside sing-along, while the retro "Fruit Is Sweet" will get even the staunchest discophobe dancing. Glaser's vocals remain laid-back to the point of tunelessness, yet her casual composure doesn't undercut the fun of her songs. Like The Mix-up, Gimme Splash is not seeking a lifetime commitment, merely a summer fling of immediate pleasures.