One
two you know what to do is how Beck starts off his seventh major label release, The Information. Nothing could be more appropriate, as the prince of alternative music has proven his versatility and peerless execution are the norm rather than an exception.
Even though The Information doesn't sound much different from the rest of Beck's catalogue, it is still completely fresh and throws curveball after curveball. Producer Nigel Godrich, who has worked with Beck on Mutations and Sea Change, brings a much fuller sound to The Information that easily dwarfs the simplicity of those previous albums.
The album's first single, Nausea
delivers an emphatic acoustic guitar riff that sounds as if it is being chased through back alleys, jumping over boxes and scaling fences in hot pursuit with the mellow fervor that Beck does so well. We Dance Alone is a hip-hop dandy, fusing Beck's lackadaisical delivery with hectic synthesizer and slithery scratches to keep it all together.
Even though surprises from Beck are routinely expected, he still finds ways to knock you upside the head from time to time. The final track on the album, the 10-minute-plus Horrible Fanfare/Landslide/Exoskeleton
would sound perfect as Beck and his band mates stumble off a lifeboat after being lost at sea for months, the song's eerie wails like the fading last wisps of sanity. It's creepy. It's haunting. But it's impossible to stop listening and miss another painfully beautiful note.
Of course, there's plenty of standard Beck fare on this album. Songs such as Elevator Music and Think I'm In Love are introspective, quick on their feet and engross almost immediately, for no other reason than to find out what lies around the next whimsical bend.
The Information{/I] is not a ground-shaker like Sea Change or off-the-wall like many of Beck's early albums. This is the product of a veteran song crafter who knows how to make a good album and does it well even if the album is not the most innovative.
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Chris Yonker
