Review Summary: Downbeat, sixties Brit-rock inspired music for conspiracy theorists.
The most un-expected smash hit of 2008 comes from no stranger to success-Beck. Fifteen years into his career, ignore all the complaining about his last release-he’s still got it. ‘Modern Guilt‘, the newest venture from Beck manages to be his best album since my personal favorite, ‘Midnite Vultures‘. It naturally doesn’t bring anything new or original, but it’s so groovy and retro that it’s easily one of his best releases. Short, sweet, not too melodramatic, and pretty simplistic, it’s nothing too fancy. But there’s an odd charm that makes Beck’s tenth release something more than ordinary. It may be a little burdened with paranoia. Though, nearing bajillionth listen to the album, I still can’t figure out what makes ‘Modern Guilt’ so damn good.
It’s just as if Beck released an album in the sixties, this is what it would sound like. Danger Mouse definitely had his lasting effect on Beck, the retro producer brought a very effective throwback feel to the album. However, there’s also a very dark addition to the album, very emotional and enveloping. Different from the old fun-hearted classics like ‘Que Onda Guero’ and 'Loser', the album carries a very melodramatic, multifaceted sound carried by Beck’s increasingly dark and paranoid lyrics. For example, the surf rock riffs in ‘Gamma Ray’ make the song seem pretty light-hearted, echoing like a Beach Boys anthem. “Hit me like a gamma ray/Standing in a hurricane/And I’m pulling out thorns/Smokestack lightning out my window/I want to know what I’ve lost today,” Beck sings in ‘Gamma Ray’. That’s more of what to expect on ‘Modern Guilt’, a mixture of upbeat and melodic anthems with dystopian, paranoid lyrics. But, damn, Beck sounds paranoid and insane on ‘Modern Guilt’. And you’ll notice his paranoia by the third song ‘Chemtrails’, a solemn, soaring anthem eschewing X-Files like conspiracy theories.
The instrumentation strays away from the forceful sonic distortion of tracks like ‘E-Pro’ and ‘Cellphone’s Dead’, and go a little darker and simplistic. Bare bones, at least for Beck. The paranoia vibrates well in the sparse landscapes of the album, and the album’s short length allows the album to stay just as long as necessary without it being too long and boring (think ‘The Information’). ‘Soul of a Man’, another stand-out, plays like NIN meets The Doors, and does it damn well. The thumping sonic distortion and the drum loop pounds away as the electronic-heavy rhythms go crazy above the thumping. ‘Volcano’ is like a Beatles track done Beck-style. So, easily, as expected, the album’s main sound is like 60s Brit-Rock with a dark, electronic vibe.
And, even though Beck’s lyrics have matured, the fun is still missing. I’m such a big fan of his ironic, fun lyrics and I just can’t get past the overwhelming paranoia that seeps from the lyrics. Beck sounds like Dale Gribble from King of the Hill in half of these songs, ‘Chemtrails’ is about some whacked-out conspiracy theory surrounding the streaks of vapor jets emit, ‘Soul of a Man’ is all about suicide, ‘Gamma Ray’ attacks global warming, nuclear attack in ‘Walls’, and our obsessive paranoia hiding our ‘Modern Guilt’. The title makes sense now, doesn’t it?
At first, the duo of Danger Mouse and Beck made me a bit apprehensive, but the feel and sound Beck was going for makes it the best style they could have gone for. Gone are the days of “I’m a loser baby/So why don’t you kill me”, and “I’ve got a devil’s haircut in my head”, and gone are the days of mindless fun, traded in for a much more serious Beck with all of the traditional sonic talent to back up his new message. ‘Modern Guilt’ may not be for everybody, but at the very least, it’s one of his strongest musical and conceptual releases to date.
didn't enjoy this at a first listen, but it does get better. the first half is great, anyway.
