Ann 2
Alain
JennYBeck - Modern Guilt Album Review
July 28th 2008 21:20
Genre: Alternative rock
Length: 33:55
Label: Interscope Records / XL Recordings
Writer: Ann 2
When I picked up Beck's Modern Guilt for this week's review, I was a bit skeptical. Beck struck me as one of those artists like Moby, Phil Collins, and/or Norah Jones who get tons of critical acclaim but don't really connect with the mainstream audience save for a handful of songs. However, I found myself pleasantly surprised by the originality of his work, and the consistency of this album which doesn't have one bad song. So without further ado, here's a track-by-track review of Modern Guilt. Don't be surprised if it turns out to be pretty short, there really isn't a lot say except that Beck did a good job.
The album starts off with Orphans (featuring Cat Power). It's a great song led by a nice guitar. The mish-mash of instruments in the background sound a bit like a movie soundtrack. This song would've fit nicely in the Jarhead movie soundtrack.
Orphans music video
Gamma Ray is another good song with a psychedelic funky sound to it.
Gamma Ray music video
Chemtrails' beginning is a bit slow. The energetic drums don't really match the slow singing rhythm. Beck's voice seemed to be behind the instruments, sounding like a distant echo similar to Chris Martin's voice on Coldplay's “Chinese Sleep Chant.”
On both Modern Guilt and Youthless, you can see that Beck has a truly ordinary voice; there's nothing special to it, yet it fits perfectly with the songs' rhythm.
Walls is Beck's second collaboration with Cat Power on this album. At first listen, I wished that the annoying drums would just stop, but then I quickly realized that the song would feel pretty empty without them.
Replica is a mash-up of various instruments and slow singing. An average song at best, it seems like he simply put everything together for the sake of it and pressed 'record.'
Soul Of A Man is the album's seventh track and the closest song to traditional rock with a simple guitar riff as the lead instrument. It's my favorite song of the album (I have a thing for good guitars).
Profanity Prayers is a good song. It features a simple but effective drum and guitar pattern. There are at least three different guitars used in this song, and they're all pretty good.
Volcano concludes the album which runs just over the half-hour mark. It's a slow song that brings a great end to the album as Beck sings “I don't know where I've been / But I know where I'm going / To that volcano.”
All in all, Modern Guilt is a great album with a unique sound – a far cry from all the commercial stuff clogging the airwaves nowadays. If you don't know Beck and want to have an idea of what he sounds like, I'd say he's sort of like a much improved version of The White Stripes (my apologies to any Beck fan that I might have offended with that comment, I call 'em like I see 'em). I give this album a 4.5/5. Personally, I prefer Coldplay, but, objectively, this album is much more original and consistent. It's a great pick-up for background music when you're having friends over for dinner or whatever.
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