beck-modernguilt music reviews Virgin Media
Intriguing but ultimately unsatisfying set from pop maverick
Beck's unique selling point has always been his mercurial alacrity; the ease with which this quick-witted magpie auteur welds seemingly antithetical beats, ideas and genres. He has also always been at his most effective when at his lightest, be it on his ironic-slacker breakthrough hit Loser or the conceptual funk of his much under-rated 1998 Mutations album.
Produced by fellow loose cannon Danger Mouse, Modern Guilt is the darker, less pop-minded side of Beck and is, to be kind, a grower. The musical mode is muted psychedelia, with gnarled and uneasy riffs frequently tailing off into themselves as Beck reflects on modern decay and alienation. He sounds like an artist in flux, thinking aloud, constantly returning to scratch the same discomforting itch on the title track, Chemtrails and the gnomic-as-Dylan Profanity Prayers. Modern Guilt is not a boring album - Beck is far too vibrant and variegated an artist for that - but he has been sharper before, and will be again.
Also try:
Gomez: Split The Difference
Sonic Youth: Rather Ripped
Pavement: Wowee Zowee
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