Beck's Soulful Sounds

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There's no mistaking Beck's primary collaborator on his new album - it's clear right away that Danger Mouse is on board. This year's in-demand producer has already delivered albums by the scruff-blues duo the Black Keys and his own future-soul band Gnarls Barkley. Now he helps Beck steer 'Modern Guilt' (Interscope) into a trippy land of '60s-style psychedelia that draws from clattering garage rock and complex Beach Boys-style pop. Beck has shown an affinity for retro-leaning styles on his previous records, too, but he's never found a sound quite as consistent or compelling as the one Danger Mouse dials in here. There's echoing cathedral reverb on Beck's voice on 'Chemtrails'; sunny, wordless harmonies on 'Orphans'; and a taut, bouncing spy-theme bass line shadowing the singer through 'Gamma Ray.' The brisk, steady snap of the drum pattern on the title track recalls T. Rex's glammiest beats, and there's a wet, crackling rhythm loop on 'Replica.' Lyrically, Beck sounds almost as downhearted as he did on 'Sea Change,' his melancholy 2002 break-up album. He sings about feeling stranded, lost and worn down, and there's a palpable sense of spiritual yearning on 'Profanity Prayers' and 'Soul of a Man.' 'What makes the soul, the soul of a man?' he asks on the latter song, and you're not sure whether the question is rhetorical. Beck has never wanted for soul, though, and there's plenty of it here.

Posted on Tue, 08 Jul 2008 15:46:23 GMT at http://www.topix.net/music/pop-rock/2008...?fromrss=1