Don’t let the 34 minute running time fool you – producer Danger Mouse (one half of Gnarls Barkley) helps pack every second of Beck’s third album in as many years with ideas, marrying introspective lyrics on life, aging and the environment with breezy 60s psychpop and beats. It’s often an album with polarising juxtapositions, and it all works almost despite itself.
“Gammaray” chugs along with a surfer riff as Beck muses on the ice caps while “Chemtrails” sees a Pink Floyd dream float by as he worries about “watching the sea / full of people / trying not to drown.”
What could have been stale and melancholic is kept engaging and the production saves Beck from wallowing in his own pessimistic observations- despite singing of how ‘My body can’t get no relief,’ on ‘Youthless,’ the song has a laid back bass and click beat with flourishes of electronica and distant vocals reminiscent of Hot Chip.
The title track deals with a subconscious collective guilt at the woes of the world (“Don’t know what I’ve done but I feel ashamed”), yet the subject matter never weighs the song down courtesy of a toe tapping bass line.
Only the slow burner of the beautiful final track ‘Volcano’ does the tempo match the weight of the lyrics, a song that wouldn’t be out of place on a lost Elliot Smith album.
Overall the shuffle of Danger Mouse’s beats and bass make this a fun summer record, while Beck’s lyrics ensure it one with a conscience. A focused return to form.
