(DGC/Universal)

The loser with another winner, even if it’s too short

The first impressions aren’t good – this latest missive from Beck is only 33 minutes long. But what he lacks in quantity, he makes up for in other ways on this new studio album. As befits its title, these ten tracks are about confusion and a sense of something ominous about to happen, all summed up in the title track’s last line – “Don’t know what I’ve done, but I feel afraid”. With co-production and beats by Danger Mouse, and guest spots by Cat Power and Jason Falkner, Beck takes us on a downhill ride with tracks that pile up concerns about the environment, big city issues, thoughts of death and feelings of alienation, all homing in on an air of helplessness. But somehow all that grey matter gets turned into his most interesting work in a long while. It opens almost sweetly with Orphans, heralding the ‘60s psychedelic influences turning up throughout the album. So, even at its most turgid, as in the crawling spookiness of Volcano, or in the skitterish, spiky pulse of Soul OF A Man (the most approachable rock piece here), these atmospherics and arrangements have been so deftly crafted, there’s no need to feel too much guilt. 

*** ˝

BILL HOLDSWORTH

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