Beck

Beck
Modern Guilt
(Interscope)

Beck Hansen has a golden ticket in showbiz. Known for his chameleon songwriting abilities, free-associative lyrics and quirky persona, he is a true master of his craft and no matter what face he puts on or what novelty he throws out, his records are almost always well-received.     

For his 10th album, Modern Guilt, Beck recruited producer Danger Mouse to aid the technical end. Featuring styles ranging from ’60s psychedelic to shoegaze, Guilt is a bit of a curve ball in comparison to recent efforts. Beck has long since ditched the white-boy rapper thing (which he did quite well, by the way), and focused on producing a much more traditional pop sound. It’s a very mellow album, and in that respect bears some resemblance to 2002’s Sea Change.

Beck spent many sleepless nights fine-tuning this album, and it definitely shows. Not only is it very sharp, but it sounds sort of tired. Although the songs aren’t as short as originally intended (his initial vision placed all 10 tracks at two minutes apiece), the album still clocks in at barely more than 30 minutes. But this doesn’t mean it’s any less effective. Songs like “Gamma Ray,” with its surf groove and catchy chorus, and the low-key “Youthless” rank among the best of his output this decade. He even ventures into dream pop territory with “Chemtrails,” the most out-of-place, but unapologetically so, song on the album. As if that wasn’t bizarre enough, “Replica,” with its electronic drum loop and otherworldly synthesizers, sounds like it came straight from an Aphex Twin album.

All in all, Modern Guilt is yet another victory for Beck. Will it go down in the annals of history as a landmark album? Probably not. But it’s a fine collection of songs, nonetheless.