Beck - Modern Guilt

“Because his records so rarely sound like anyone’s but his own, it’s easy to forget how much Beck thrives on collaborating with name-brand producers like Nigel Godrich and the Dust Brothers. For the follow-up to 2006’s “The Information” he teamed with Danger Mouse, and though the result is unmistakably the work of our favorite midnite vulture, “Modern Guilt” also makes clear how much Beck must have loved “Crazy” by Gnarls Barkley. Nearly every tune here echoes that hit’s spooky, reverb-soaked vibe. Built on shuffling beats and big basslines, the ghost-gospel arrangements provide a good setting for Beck’s vocals, which hew closer to the depressed mumbling of “Mutations” and “Sea Change” than to the white-boy jive of “Guero” or “Odelay.” Nothing makes as quick of an impact as “Crazy,” but give the tunes time and you’ll find they stick around.—Mikael Wood”