The Guardian, London, England. Betty Clarke.
Fri, Aug 17, 2001

BS 2000 have instant recognition and unending cool at their keyboard-stroking fingertips - in the form of Adam Horowitz, aka Ad-Rock of the Beastie Bovs. A whiff of suspicion greeted the band's self-titled debut in 1997, its limited-edition vinyl status adding to the belief that BS 2000 were little more than a vanity project. But with last year's Simply Mortified, Horowitz, along with Amery "Awol" Smith, proved dedicated to his new dance sound, which cleverly weaves hip hop beats into punk-pop two-minute wonders and frenzied, Casio-keyboard floor-fillers.
Horowitz passionately throws himself around, his hands clenched, his face contorted in an expression of joyful agony. As the ominous opening of New York Is Good begins, he rides each frantic note, watching Smith's scrunched-up concentration as his own hips swivel and his hands dance over the keys.
BS 2000 skilfully combine the haphazard, chaotic nature of lo-fi with polished control. It sounds like a bunch of kids writing about their friends and watching TV, augmented by funk inspired by Nintendo and Joe90 and delivered in shouts of frustration. But this is carefully deconstructed, fresh-sounding pop, with plenty of sublime breaks and a playful imagination.
Horowitz's nasal whine is as distinctive as ever, his demeanour disarmingly unstarry, particularly when he demonstrates the "hitch-hiking monkey" dance. Only a solitary stage diver incurs his wrath, causing him to stop In the Basement mid-song. "My man." he says accusingly. "I'm sure you're a nice guy, but save it for the Pearl Jam show.""