Stelios Phili EDITOR

























Beck is the epitome of cool. Just look at the sweet hat he’s been wearing! And if his golden locks aren’t enough indication, then his 10th studio album solidifies his spot in the Kingdom of Koolness. Modern Guilt is co-produced by producer/rodent extraordinaire Danger Mouse (The Grey Album, Gnarls Barkley, Gorillaz, The Black Keys, etc.) and his handiwork definitely shows. Characterized by a sonic edge that canoodles with 60’s psychedelica, Beck’s new tunes are a departure from the funky, pseudo-hip-hop tunage found on his previous album, The Information.

The first track, “Orphans,” is a perfect example of Beck’s recent mutation, which involves cleverly chopped-up-and-sewn-together drum beats coupled with haunting echoes and pools of reverb. While “Gamma Ray” continues in this trend, it is “Chemtrails” that sets the tone for Beck’s latest work. With its bombastic drums, eerie falsetto, and dominating bass line, the song is the perfect ode to the chemtrails conspiracy theory, which alleges that smoke streams from jets are actually chemicals being sprayed for the governments sick and twisted purposes (!). “So many people, where do they go?” sings Beck with a wistful uneasiness. It is this anxiety and appeal to the uncanny that is at the heart of Modern Guilt. Beck expands upon this idea in the first verse of the title track,"Modern Guilt." singing, “I feel uptight when I walk in the city/I feel so cold when I'm at home/Feels like everything's 
starting to hit me,” and in the chorus, “Don’t know what I’ve done, but I feel afraid.” 

As government surveillance increases, the slightest fear of somehow slipping up can easily amplify into paranoia. The orchestration the title track parallels such emotions, incorporating a creeping bass and guitar line with thick, pounding piano. Danger Mouses’s crafty fingerprints cover “Youthless” and “Replica,” which feature the mouse’s eclectic, mashed-up drum samples, as well as “Walls,” which incorporates his signature string arrangements. The results are simply beautiful, specifically on “Walls”- the song’s sonic edge is perfectly tempered by the ambient strings and synth. Lyrically, Beck is as poetic (and confusing) as ever. In “Profanity Prayers,” for instance, he sings, “And your bingo card comes sacrament of a casino/On the half of me now with the guillotine libido.” And every time you hear one’s libido being described as guillotine, an angel gets its wings. The king of cool is back (or Beck, for that matter).

Beck - Chemtrails.mp3
Beck - Modern Guilt.mp3
Beck - Walls.mp3