The Steamboat Pilot & Today

Beck

Steamboat Springs — “Modern Guilt”

In the first few tracks of his 11th full-length release, Beck sings about abandonment, more abandonment and guilt.

This is not “Devil’s Haircut,” and this is not “Sexx Laws.” Instead, “Modern Guilt” is an often off-kilter and lyrically dire collection of tracks set atop that so-layered-it-feels-minimalist production for which “Modern Guilt” teammate Danger Mouse (“The Grey Album,” Gnarls Barkley) is known.

These songs are not as weird or kitschy or ironic or awesome as “Loser” and “Nicotine & Gravy,” but they’re still good — and that’s been true of everything Beck’s put out since whatever album it is you might think is the best.

It’s not the mad crazy dance party that was “Midnight Vultures,” and it’s not the reinvention of pop that was “Odelay.” But Beck has never been willing to stay in one place. That’s why “Loser” was so great: It didn’t make a bit of sense to combine the things that were combined there, and Beck’s erratic musical mind found a perfect pairing with that record’s producers. A similar pairing for “Modern Guilt” isn’t quite as groundbreaking, but it certainly works.

As implied by its title, “Modern Guilt” isn’t the happiest record Beck has made. Definitely, it retains his pan-generational pop sensibilities, but the intent of songs such as “Orphans” and “Youthless” is not the same as the self-conscious irony that made Beck famous. They’re more honest and they harp on more serious subjects, and in some ways, that might come off as contrived, especially when paired with the general atmospheric airiness on all of “Modern Guilt.”

There’s space between lyrics and thoughts on most of the songs on “Modern Guilt,” especially on the title track. They take time to develop, and they’re supported by simple, instrumental motifs, drum machines and synthesizers. Luckily, that production style is a perfect fit for what Beck seems to be going for here, considering the opening lines to the mid-record cut “Walls”:

“Some days we get a thrill in our brains / Some days it turns into malaise / You see your face in the veneer / Reflected on the surface of fear.”

Heavy. But, it’s Beck. The man doesn’t make bad records, and he doesn’t make the same record twice. “Modern Guilt” keeps to that trend as much as everything else Beck has done.

Rating: ★★★★★