Modern Guilt
More direct and consistent than his last two scattershot LPs, Beck's latest-- produced by Danger Mouse-- finds the disillusioned L.A. hippie struggling to balance his deathly 21st century outlook with his more crowd-pleasing inclinations.
Over the past decade, Beck has wrestled with two fairly distinct musical personas, giving each one entire albums to gestate: There's the hip-hop-embracing, sample-crazy fun-lover (Midnite Vultures, Guero) and then there's the master of atmospheric downer-folk (Mutations, Sea Change). His last disc, 2006's The Informati…
At first glance, it seems like the teaming of Beck and Danger Mouse is a perfect pairing of postmodern pranksters, as neither musician has shaken the first impression he's made: for most, Beck is still seen as that ironic Loser, trawling through pop culture's junk heap, while Danger Mouse is the maverick of The Grey Album, the mash-up of the Beatles and Jay-Z that reads like a joke but doesn't play like one.
This album’s brief 10 tracks prove that Beck’s almost always more interesting when he’s not having fun.
I don’t mean to suggest midlife crisis for Beck, but his new release, Modern Guilt, doesn't compare to the genre-defying musical precedent he has...