Beck – Modern Guilt
Beck has had an interesting career in my book. After all, how could an artist top themselves once they gave us one of the most defining songs of a decade, which would be “Loser” of course.
Well, he did so with two of the best albums from the 90’s, 1996’s Odelay and 1998’s Mutations. Midnite Vultures in 1999 wasn’t as genius, but “Sexx Laws is a killer track. Then in 2002 Beck got a bit depressed and stripped down for the fantastic Sea Change. But ever since it seems like Beck has been trying to find his way again. Guero in 2005 and The Information in 2006 weren’t horrible albums, but they felt like Beck was trying way too hard to once again find that funky genius that gave us so much great music from the 90’s.
Modern Guilt, however, proves that Beck has indeed found his way.
Sure, it was easy to get swept into the hype of the new album when it was revealed that Danger Mouse was producing it, but there is no let down folks. Everything from the hypnotic, conspiracy filled first single “Chemtrails” to the psychedelic embraced “Gamma Ray” and “Modern Guilt” to the jazzy Cat Power collaboration “Walls” to the classic sounding Beck track “Profanity Prayers” are…well…just awesome. And what really seals the deal is the closing track “Volcano”, which is one of those head bopping tunes where just close your eyes and feel the music. Very good stuff.
The only complaint about Modern Guilt is that it’s too short, it’s only about 35 minutes long. But hey, quality not quantity is always a good philosophy.
Overall, a great album with a unique theme dealing with today’s crazy world, which is certainly worth the cost.
Here’s a live performance of another new track, “Youthless”.
Comments Off