More: Coldplay sends letters to fans announcing new album out next month The atmospheric 11-song album, out Friday, effortlessly blends elements of hip hop and psychedelic rock, employing cosmic imagery to evoke feelings of lust ("Star") and loneliness ("Stratosphere" featuring Coldplay's Chris Martin). If "Colors" was the sonic equivalent of a vibrant dance party, his latest "Hyperspace" would be comparable to the comedown after: lying in bed and staring at the ceiling, preferably with a joint in hand. Two years after he bested Beyoncé for the album-of-the-year Grammy with his meditative, folk-leaning "Morning Phase," the rock veteran did a sharp 180 with his euphoric 2017 effort "Colors," which drew from influences as far-ranging as David Bowie and Young Thug, and found him working with pop hit-maker Greg Kurstin (Adele's "Hello," Kelly Clarkson's "Stronger"). It would be fun, I bet, to hear more collaborations between Williams and Beck in the direction of “Saw Lightning,” and when things in general are looking up.Beck is back, and shape-shifting once again. But it’s clear that Beck’s more emotionally connected to the “Dark Places,” with it’s floating somewhat haunted vocal realization that “she’s gone,” and “Everlasting Nothing,” with it’s sad reckoning that nothing is everlasting. We get the best sense of the pop chemistry of Beck and Williams in the percolating rhythms of “See Through” and “Star,” which have the kind of melodic pop hooks that stay with you. While that track had me hankering for more of the same, on the whole Hyperspace leans more toward the spacy floating synths electro-pop of “Die Waiting,” “Chemical” and “Stratosphere.” The title track contains a brief rap turn, but it sounds like Beck handed that over to guest Terrell Hines.
“Saw Lightning,” the album’s first single, was featured on Beck’s summer tour, with a return to the bluesy slide guitar at the start, and a bit of that edgier “Odelay” feel in the mix of Williams’ electronic drum beat, and Beck’s bluesier leanings right down to the harmonica heard toward the tune’s end.
Beck gives expression to his sense of loss right from the beginning in “Uneventful Days,” in the lines: “Caught up in these never-mending battle lines/Everything has changed, nothing feels right.” But musically, Beck and producer Pharrell Williams have continued to map out musical territory that was defined more or less with Colors, but with a more forward looking pop energy. Not unlike Sea Change in subject matter, this new one, Hyperspace, finds Beck fresh from the break up of a long-time romantic relationship, this time the divorce of his 15 year marriage to Marissa Ribisi. More recently, Beck appeared in a supportive role for Jakob Dylan’s documentary about the influential music scene that grew up in Laurel Canyon, “Echo In the Canyon,” where he performs the Byrds “The Bells of Rhymney” and Carole King’s “Goin’ Back.” And this year, Beck shows up on new albums by Jenny Lewis, and co-wrote “Night Running” with Cage The Elephant for their album Social Cues, with whom he co-headlined a summer tour ().
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In the intervening years, we got Odelay, which seemed to take the kinetic energy of Loser to the next level with its tribute to hip-hop in “Where It’s At,” and rock radio favorites “Devil’s Haircut” and “The New Pollution,” we got “Midnight Vultures” full of funk & R&B tributes, and the sad, folk music turn of “Sea Change.” Then “Guero” appeared to look back toward his Odelay with some Brazilian and techno influences, the award winning Morning Phase, was a quieter, folky introspective record, then Colors gave his hit single “Dreams” a home, which had already been out on the airwaves for a year, displaying a poppier vision.īeck’s career has been marked by supportive collaborations, often with his producers, like The Dust Brothers on records like Odelay, Midnight Vultures and Guero. Album Review: It has been a fun and curious thing to watch the evolution of Beck’s musical career from his breakout single, Loser in 1994 with its mix of lo-hi folk, hip-hop and blues influence and 2017’s Colors which was all glossy, polished synth pop with an 80’s retro vibe.
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