5-4-3-2-1 (four)

four.
Beck
The Information

Some commentators have dubbed this a return to form, but I cannot agree with this statement. I am not convinced that Beck ever lost his form. He may have ventured further afield, wandering around between arbitrary musical genres, but I don't believe a bad album he has made. Still, this is a bit of a page three stunner.

More varied in style than his previous records, this is like a mix of his best work, a Greatest Hits, but with all new songs. Original, yet familiar, his funny skew-whiff raps are teamed with more melancholy numbers. This creates not a schizophrenic feeling, but more the image of a well-rounded, if a bit weird, individual.

Ordinarily I would find an album clocking in at 67 minutes a bit of a struggle, but worry not, there is never a dull moment and no time to be bored. Denied a chart entry for its 'gimmicky' DIY cover concept (I think the BPI have been misinformed if they think that is the reason people buy CDs), playing with all the groovy stickers continues the overall sense of fun and freedom that fills any room in which these tunes can be heard.

"One, two, you know what to do!"