Review Summary: Beck shows that even after 15 years, he still knows where it's at.
I had lost all hope in Beck making a good album after Guero and The Information, and I was afraid my money and my time would be wasted buying this, but this record really suprised me. I had thought Beck was stuck in a pit of mediocracy, but this album proved me wrong. Great beats, impressive lyrics, and whoever recorded the drums for this album, thank you. They are great and very original.
Every Beck album has changed it's style from the last, and on this one he takes a more mellow, paranoid approch to song writing. Each of the songs on the album confront a hot-button issue in the world today ("Gamma Ray", for example, covers global warming, and "Soul Of A Man" covers suicide). Here is where people might think he would cram some scientologic beliefs in his song wirting, which he has never done. Not many people know this, but he was just born into scientology, he doesn't believe in it. Even if he did write a song like that, it would be a hidden meaning. Either that, or the lyrics would be terrible (Xenu Gave Me A Taco?). This leads me to arguably the best part of this album, the lyrics. No, they are not the fun, ironic lyrics many fans have come to love from Odelay or Midnite Vultures, but they are well thought-out and pretty brilliant. A good example is in the opener, "Orphans" (Think i'm stranded, but I don't know where/I got this diamond that don't know how to shine/in the sun where these dark winds wail/and these children leave their rulers behind). You can expect these kinds of lyrics on the rest of the album.
The first half of this 10-track is obviously the best, starting with "Orphans", a catchy tune with a great drum beat and lyrics. "Gamma Ray" is a bit more fast-paced with an exceptional chorus. "Chemtrails'" lyrics are down-right haunting (Down by the sea/so many people/they've already drowned/you and me watching a sea full of people/try not to drown) sung in a haunting tone. If you read the lyrics along, it sounds like a poem. In all it's a beautiful song, musically. "Modern Guilt" is one of the more up-beat tracks, with Beck's voice a step above the usual mumbling, although the lyrics are some of the most paraniod on the album (I feel uptight when I walk in the city/I feel so cold when i'm at home/feels like everything's starting to hit me/I lost my bearings ten minutes ago). "Youthless" is a bass-driven song, with arguably the best beat on the album.
After "Youthless", the next five tracks take on a different sound, and not for the better. Most feel unfinished. Not rushed, just not quite done. "Walls" is a decent track, with a drastically untuned snare drum, and an abrupt ending, that makes you say to yourself "Already?". The weakest of the five is "Replica". Not memorable at all, the whole song feels like one verse, and not a good one. "Soul Of A Man" starts out as a promising rocker, but it doesn't go anywhere. They are not all bad, though. "Profanity Prayers", my favorite of the last five, has a great guitar riff and Beck singing at his most energentic, which isn't saying much. The closing track, "Volcano" is the slowest track, and the saddest. I personaly think he pulled off the mood almost as good as any of the tracks on Sea Change. The lyrics really shine in this song. Other cons include the length. Many people were dissapionted that this album was so short with only 10 tracks. It doesn't bother me, as long as the songs are actually any good ("Back In Black" was a 10-track and it kicked ass). Also, like I mentioned earlier, there are no fun or ironic lyrics, and for the most part Beck sticks to his mumbling (which sounds more boring that it is). Lastly, I usually pick out a Beck album to match my mood, but this album, really doesn't fit in one. Yes, it's about paranoia, but I doubt this is going to fit with that.
In all, I was pleased with the qualitiy of this album, better than The Information by far, and unlike The Information, the good songs outweigh the bad songs. "Modern Guilt" is a sign that Beck still has potential, that he can still make great beats and deep lyrics and catchy songs. I can tell you, when his next record comes out, I will not be reluctant to buy it.
