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 Another Solid Outing July 8, 2008
Brandon J. Smith
37 out of 39 found this review helpful
Beck has done something that very, very few artists have ever been able to do: He's transitioned from young phenom genius innovator to established professional, without sacrificing artistically or compromising his craft. In my opinion, Beck has two masterpieces. First was Odelay. It built off the out-of-nowhere, wonderful Mellow Gold to hone his skills into something really amazing. Second was Sea Change. This was a high-water mark in Beck's brilliance in melding lyrics, melody, and soundscape. I never thought Beck could top Mellow Gold and Odelay, but Sea Change became my favorite Beck album and remains so to this day.
Since then, he's released some very interesting albums. The Information, in particular, has grown on me, revealing more and more as time goes on. It's a great album to revisit, sprawling as it may be.
Summer of 2008 sees the release of Modern Guilt, and, like Guero and The Information, it's got all you'd expect from Beck: cool beats, interesting lyrics, marble-mouthed singing, wide variations in rhythm, and immaculate production. Perhaps I could criticize it for not being as mind-blowing as Odelay and Sea Change, or for not being as totally zany as Midnight Vultures. But would it not be better to hear it for what it is and appreciate the way Beck has created his most focused album in years?
I love the way this simultaneously sounds like a Beck album, yet resists comparison with any one of his discs. It fits into Beck's catalog as another strong entry, another variation on the themes he's been exploring for years. Though it does not defy expectations, it certainly lives up to them.
Strangely mesmerizing album July 8, 2008
Paul Allaer (Cincinnati)
32 out of 58 found this review helpful
After the fantastic 2005 "Guero" album, let me just state that I was hugely disappointed with the 2006 "The Information" album, which was unfocused and sprawling (even if it did have the clever cover art work), and simply did not captivate me at all. Upon hearing that Beck was working with Danger Mouse on a new album, I was very intrigued. And that hugely anticipated album has finally arrived.
"Modern Guilt" (10 tracks; 34 min.) kicks off with "Orphans", which sounds immediately familiar, until I realize it pretty much lifts the tune from Carly Simon's "You're So Vain" (not the chorus, but the verses before it), wow! But a fun track, for sure. The first half of the album flows impeccably, with the poppy "Gamma Ray", the dark "Chemtrails" (with thundering drums), the pensive title track, and the trippy "Youthless", as close as a dance track you'll find on here. I rate the first half of the album 4.5 stars. The second half starts off with an excellent 1-2 punch of "Walls" and "Replica", just Beck and Danger Mouse (who is credited with making "Beats" and "Sounds" throughout the album). Then the album falters with "Soul of a Man", followed by an excellent "Profanity Prayers", with hard charging electric guitars and drums. The closer "Volcano" is for me the weakest track on the album, it just doesn't seem to go anywhere. I rate the second half of the album 3.5 stars.
In all, "Modern Guilt" is MILES better than "The Information". While this album is not as good as the seemingly happy-go-lucky album that was "Guero", I have nevertheless come to really love this album. It's a darker (think "Sea Change", but with GOOD tunes) and at 34 min. (joining a late rush of short albums such as REM's Accelerate), it clips by in no time, and I find myself playing this again and again. I've seen Beck a number of times over the years, and can't wait to see the songs from "Modern Guilt" in a live setting.
 (3.5 stars) Lovely and weird psych-folk record July 8, 2008
Patrick G. Varine (Georgetown, Delaware)
13 out of 17 found this review helpful
Both Beck and DJ Danger Mouse can be acquired tastes. The former's experimentation fusing multiple genres of music together can come off as novelty to some; the latter's out-there work with Cee-Lo Green as Gnarls Barkley can do the same.
But they're also both capable of working magic, as evidenced by Beck's previous effort, The Information as well as Danger Mouse's genius pairing of Jay-Z and the Beatles on The Grey Album and his expert sonic backdrops as one half of DangerDoom on The Mouse and the Mask.
Additionally, there's little doubt that both could be the co-editors at Obscure Music Quarterly (props to sports reporter The Jeff Mitchell for that one), so it should come as little surprise that when they got together to compare notes on their favorite old-school psychedelic rock, the result would be a lovely and weird psych-folk record that doesn't sound immediately like either artist.
On first listen, Modern Guilt seems like what would have happened if Beck and company had recorded The Information with a lot more acoustic instruments and reverb. The tight, thickly-layered harmonies of Information's "Strange Apparition" feature prominently, and the melancholy-future-paranoid vibe is still firmly in place.
And like much of Beck's other work, the old coexists anachronistically alongside the new: the skittery drum-and-bass percussion with the otherwise lilting "Replica"; square-wave synthesizer fills with the chugging title track. But several songs are straight-ahead band numbers, with minimal tinkering on Danger Mouse's part: the haunting, conspiracy-theory "Chemtrails," the stomping "Soul of a Man," and the surf-music-on-a-bad-acid-trip "Gamma Ray."
And while Modern Guilt is easily Beck's most mature-sounding record - one could make an argument for Sea Change, however - it's still a bit tricky making sense of his lyrics ("Trying to hold/Hold out for now/With these ice caps melting down/With the transistor sound and my Chevrolet terraplane /Going round, round, round/Come a little gamma ray /Standing in a hurricane /Your brains are bored /Like a refugee /From the houses burning /And the heat wave's calling your name," from "Gamma Ray"). It's best to just enjoy the imagery, and the subtle touches of '60s psychedelia sprinkled throughout the record work well with Beck's stream-of-consciousness wordplay, as well as give it a rootsier sound that could just as easily appeal to boomers as to their children.
Danger Mouse seems to bring out an excellent side in whoever he's working with, whether it's Cee-Lo, the Black Keys or MF Doom. While it may not be Beck's best album, Modern Guilt is a very enjoyable step in yet another slightly new direction.
 A Quirky and Addictive Slap in The Soul July 9, 2008
Da BrandoChipper
13 out of 16 found this review helpful
2008 has been a prolific year for releases from major artists (REM, Counting Crows, The Black Crowes, Colplay, Alanis Morrisette, Lil Wayne, etc etc). Most of these releases have been worthy of praise, but I have found a few flaws in all of them. Call me an idiot, but I cant find any flaws in Beck's new release, Modern Guilt, although I am sure some reviewers are itching to point some flaws out to me.
As Beck gets closer to 40, his songwriting has matured. He seems to use fewer samples than he used to. He still wears his influences on his sleeve, but his personality is all over the music. His collaboration with Danger Mouse worked well. The "beats" are paced well enough to make the entire album easy to enjoy in one listen, but you will want to listen again as soon as you're done.
Becks lyrics have always been quirky and obtuse, and this album is no exception. But this time the imagery seems thicker and more foreboding. The bodies drowning in the moody and ethereal "Chemtrails" are certainly morose and some may think Beck a bit paranoid, but he may be justified. The crunchy, guitar driven "Profanity Prayers" could be the highlight of the album and is my personal favorite. "Who's gonna answer profanity prayers" is quite a slap in the face of modern man. Our calls to a higher power have become nothing more than four letter words. Beck addresses a higher power at several points and he certainly makes more sense than the hair sprayed con men on TV.
Beck has proven here that middle age doesnt dull creativity. The songs Ive mentioned above along with the bass heavy "Orphans", "Gamma Ray" and "Youthless" easily rank along with some his best songs. (I know this sounds weird...but I can picture Austin Powers doing his "shag dance" to "Gamma Ray"). Some of the songs are experiments, such as the slightly eccentric "Replica", but the experiments work. You may need to listen more than once, but none of the songs are filler. Every song has something to offer and seems as if it will offer even more the next time you listen.
If Beck isnt nominated for at least Alternative Album of the Year, the academy of music and recorded arts is a bunch of idiots.
Beck goes all psychedelic!!! July 8, 2008
Nse Ette (Lagos, Nigeria)
11 out of 18 found this review helpful
On "Modern Guilt", the 10th album of Beck's career, he teams up with wunderkind Danger Mouse and the result is sixties sounding psychedelia, akin to the Beach Boys, or more recently, Panda Bear (but more structured).
The 10 brief cuts on this CD are dreamy and melodic with layered harmonies and chiming guitars, opening cut the sublime "Orphans" being a fine example.
More upbeat is "Gamma ray", while the dreamy Beach Boys-esque "Chemtrails" is blissful.
Title track "Modern guilt" is a chugging pop/rocker, and "Youthless" has a groovy bassline. Other songs are the brief and eerie "Walls" with clattering beats, the chiming "Replica" with skittery beats, the buzzing and chugging Blues-like "Soul of a man", the fuzzy, bouncy "Profanity prayers", and closing is the dreamy ballad "Volcano".
"Modern guilt" comprises 10 tightly woven songs which take a look at the state of the world and what can be done about it. It does take quite a few spins to get into it, but once you do, you'll be away on a psychedelic ride.
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