- Release date:
- July 8, 2008
- Artist/Band name:
- Beck
- Record label:
- Interscope
- Official Web Site:
- http://www.modernguilt.com/
Backstory: Once pegged as a one-hit wonder for his leftfield 1994 hit “Loser,” Beck Hansen went on to become one of music’s unlikeliest institutions. He often changes identity between albums, previously logging time as a Prince-aping party-starter, a broken-hearted balladeer and a lo-fi folkie. On his eighth studio record, “Modern Guilt,” he hooked up with producer Danger Mouse for an exploration of hazy psych-rock and familiarly jaunty/melancholy slices of folk-pop.
Why you should care: Beck seldom operates on autopilot. Even his misfires tend to be interesting, and “Modern Guilt” hits more than misses. Despite his iconic standing, he has a checkered commercial past, but that seems almost deliberate; his response to “Odelay,” his massively accessible mainstream breakthrough, was the comparatively obscure “Mutations.”
Verdict: “Modern Guilt” both benefits and suffers from the ramshackle approach taken in its creation. In its original conception, the album was supposed to be comprised of two minute psych-rock songs; Beck and Danger Mouse wound up fleshing it out more than initially planned, but there are still plenty of sharp edges, as when the carpet is abruptly pulled out on “Walls,” a moody standout that features a sing-songy chorus about the apocalypse. But while there’s not an ounce of fat on the strong tracks—“Walls” would be much less effective with some arbitrary coda tacked onto it—the weaker tracks feel too sludgy and slapdash to have staying power. “Sea Change” fans will want to skip ahead to the cripplingly depressing closer “Volcano.”
X-Factor: Finely tuned ears may notice that the female backing vocals on several tracks are provided by indie super songstress Cat Power. Then again, they may not, as her normally powerful presence gets muted in the production.
Add a comment