Morning Phase
21 February 2014
Capitol
3.5 stars out of 5
On Morning Phase,
Beck revisits the acoustic folkiness of 2002’s Sea Change. Recording sessions for the new album began in 2005,
with much of the same folks who graced Sea
Change with their presence. Finally completed and released nine years
later, Morning Phase finds Beck
content simply making pretty sounds, concentrating on the atmosphere and the
lyrics rather than exploring new and interesting songscapes, as has been his
trademark. While this is by no means a bad record, there’s not much here to
hold your attention either.
“Heart Is a Drum” has a bit of a Nick Drake feel to it,
though in more of the fully orchestrated Bryter
Layter vein than the stripped down Pink
Moon. “Blue Moon” is a sunny single full of acoustic layers. It’s the kind
of song you’d bring home to your mother. Unless your mother is cool, then don’t
bother, because she’ll embarrass you both by asking why you broke up with that
other guy with the tattoo of bpNichol’s poetry on his neck and the odd way of
pronouncing “totalitarian” as “totally-terrain.” She wanted you to marry that guy and everyone ever after will be a disappointment in her eyes. “Wave” is Beck’s attempt to
remake Björk’s “Hunter” without the broken drum’n’bass. It’s the highlight of
the album, full of lovely strings and melancholia. “Turn Away” has a ‘60s California
One of the problems one encounters when reviewing a record
by someone who had helped completely redefine pop music in the ‘90s (along with
the aforementioned Björk and others) is that, even if this would be a good
record by most other artists, there’s always a sense of disappointment. Coupled
with the feeling that Beck is holding back a bit with his creativity here (as
inferred from press releases heralding the album), this is an LP that has had an
unenviable Sisyphean battle from the beginning. It has its moments, but likely
won’t be considered among Beck’s stronger records once all the dust has
settled.
reviewed by Richard Krueger
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