By JASON HARPER
Guilt certainly is one kind of motivator. That may explain much of why Beck's 12th album is how it is, and not just in the choice of title. Modern Guilt finds the once-nimble, weirdo wordsmith dropping the rap style that has figured prominently on most of his albums -- save Sea Change, Mutations and some of the early stuff -- in favor of ethereal, largely unintelligible crooning about being lost, hurricanes (not the kind that rock under rugs), melting icecaps, drowning, and lots of abstractions. This is no Sea Change , mind you -- here, Beck seems sad and confused, a lost guru, trying to see the sunrise through thick smog, willing to look away and strike a brief Elvis pose only if you really yank at his robe, and only for a second.
Danger Mouse, Beck's studio cohort this time around, is credited with beats on most of the 10 tracks (lending additional keys, programming and "sounds" to a few others) but don't expect any hell yeses -- the work is dusty, dark and analog-sounding, sounding like the Beta Band on a vintage turntable and wood-encased speakers. Beck's patented formula -- acoustic guitar and/or muted, crunchy electric over beats -- dominates Guilt, causing many of the songs to sound the same. Track two, "Gamma Ray," pays Odelayian homage to the Delta Blues with a slide guitar break, and many of the other tracks -- such as "Modern Guilt," "Youthless," and the directly bluesy "Soul of a Man" -- follow suit, bussing along to subdued soul-rock backbeats. The guru puts on wayfarer shades, but he still can't see much.
Only the clairvoyant, psychedelically immersive "Chemtrails" and the Radioheadlike "Replica," which beautifully wraps orchestral countermelodies over distorted jungle beats, cut through the album's overriding haze of chunky repetition and mellow crooning. Though Modern Guilt is overall a decent vehicle, its driver seems in need of some more motivation.
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