Beck’s been garnering a number of Caribou references for Modern Guilt‘s “Chemtrails.” Then, just a couple of days ago, he performed the lilting, ’60s-evoking title track at L.A.’s Echo. Now the Danger Moused Modern Guilt finally has an official release date, a tracklist, and some good old fashioned cover art (literally). It’s the first new material since last year’s digital-only “Timebomb” and we’re told the ten tracks “vacillate between economy and experimentation, hybrid and pop classicism, while consistently manifesting Beck and Danger Mouse’s shared interest in psych-rock, folk, electronic minimalism and orchestration.”
The tracklist:
01 “Orphans”
02 “Gamma Ray”
03 “Chemtrails”
04 “Modern Guilt”
05 “Youthless”
06 “Walls”
07 “Replica”
08 “Soul of A Man”
09 “Profanity Prayers”
10 “Volcano”
Modern Guilt is out in Europe and the UK on 7/7 via XL and in North America on 7/8 via DGC. Beck’s taking it on the road:
8/22 – San Francisco, CA @ Outside Lands Festival
8/24 – Bend, OR @ Les Schwab Amphiteater
8/30 – Seattle, WA @ Bumbershoot Festival
9/20 – Hollywood, CA @ Hollywood Bowl
9/27 – Austin, TX @ Austin City Limits Festival
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I’m calling a comeback
He left? He hasn’t had a dud album in years.
His work on the ‘Nacho Libre’ strk is damn great too.
did beck ever really go away? really?
Ehh I dunno. For whatever reason I feel pretty indifferent to any new Beck. Midnite Vultures was probably the last one I was excited for.
Different versions of Beck have come and gone. So, comeback? Possibly?
My enthusiasm for Beck waned when he declared that he had a new album coming out (Mutations) but that it was NOT his follow up to Odelay. I thought to myself, “Boy, either Beck or the Record Label are acting awfully cowardly about this. Why not believe in the material?” And it turned out the album WAS incredible. This sort of BS process shines a light on some of the crap on the top level of the corporate record industry.
So when’s the leak?
I’m lovin’ this cover art. Looks like a Beck album if he were signed to Blue Note.
reminds me of ga ga ga ga ga.
the cover art.
I never thought of Beck as the Helvetica type
I’m really excited for this. The first song that came out was great and that video was solid too…Great producer, Beck saying he’s worked harder on this than any other album, the economy (10 songs, 30 minutes), the simplicity and boldness of the cover. Sweet. I’m thinking it will certainly be his best since Sea Change.
I don’t feel like this is a ‘comeback’ in the slightest, but I do feel this is a make-or-break proposition for Beck. ‘Guero’ and ‘The Information’ each had their moments (and they each have their fans) but neither of them exactly blew up the charts or the critical world. All the pieces are in place for this to be the album of the year, but there’s part of me that can’t help but think that anything *less* than the album of the year will be a potentially career-damaging letdown for Beck. These are just my thoughts; anyone else see what I mean?
iN ORDER TO HAVE A “COME BACK” I THINK YOU HAVE TO BE A LITTLE LESS BLOODY PROLIFIC THAN BECK, LMAO
shhhh…
ill tell you whats bugging me, on the prolificity point –
there aint NO way these two bastards only did 10 songs. they probably did ten songs this WEEK! this cd’ll come out and two months later the deluxe comes out. then the dvd with the remixes. etc.
capitalism is a bitch.
Everything since Sea Change has been a little too safe, a little too same-y. This sounds like it’s going to change things up and that’s excellent.
I hope the lyrics have all been approved by the Ghost Of L.Ron Hubbard!
This stuff should be cool…”Chemtrails” is one of his best tracks ever, IMO.
Loving the cover. It’s got an early-era Dylan feel to it, if you ask me. I’m a little disappointed to hear that the release is so far away (I honestly thought it would be next week), but I can wait. Beck is and has been my favorite artist for some time now, and he never disappoints.
Beck designed the cover himself, and it’s badass.
I could always use a little more Beck in my life. And so close to my birthday! Yeah, I probably won’t wait for my birthday to buy it.
See, what I’m guessing was the album designer thought this was going to be a JEFF Beck album, and followed suit with a subdued, throwback design.
I just got to hear this album at the XL offices. Have a read of what it’s like here: http://drownedinsound.com/articles/3470348
oh man, that sounds soooo fucking rad. this needs to leaaaak!
i give the album 5 thetans
you are my new hero.
Xenon gives your mom 5 thetans
can’t wait to hear it,
beck and danger mouse is a kick ass pairing,
bummed i missed the show at The Echo, but can’t wait for the Hollywood Bowl w/ MGMT and Spoon.
is that hat 5 or 10 Gallons?
Beck designed the cover himself, and it’s badass. I read an interview with him talking about it. He says it reminds him of “classic 70′s throwawat covers”. He was almost late submitting it to the label because he says “an album cover lasts a lifetime, and there’s no point having a crappy album cover on a great album”. Just so’s ya know.
I hope Xenu likes it. i dread to think what will happen if Beck makes a bad album and upsets the alien overlord!
hello? has anyone noticed that the cover art is almost exactly the same as radioheads
“My Iron Lung EP”
Because it shows legs in it?
Naw, someone else already nailed it above, it’s a lot more like an on Blue Note Records cover (like “Kind of Blue” or “The Sidewinder”:
).Can’t wait can’t wait can’t wait! Yeah, I agree with whoever said that Beck’s last 2 albums were a little on the safe side. Sea Change was a true experiment, with fabulous results. What Beck has shown us time and time again is that we can never know what to expect from him, and the result is always pretty good.
Oh, and just because both the My Iron Lung EP and Modern Guilt have photos of people’s lower halves it means they look exactly the same? NO.
just what is going on in this album cover that is making it so great? I’ll have to see the actual physical booklet in front of my face to study it because I’m not seeing what everyone else sees. Can’t wait to get it!
sigh…. “booklet”…
I second the Dylan-esque remark made earlier. At least for the frame:
July 8th is his birthday! How precious!
So amped for this record to come out!
the jigsaw jazz & the get-fresh flow….
theres this promo video at amazon, if you haven’t seen it, check it out:
http://www.amazon.com/Modern-Guilt-Beck/dp/B0019GAOI2
*sigh* i think this albums gonna be really good.
i didn’t like The Information that much and I thought Guero was a bit too easy for beck’s standards, i thought. It was like a formula product in the line of earlier albums that felt more like effing childbirth. Midnite Vultures was nice, for a while, but not timeless-nice. BTW the overly praised track Debra was a song he already performed 4 years before it finally came out on Midnite Vultures. A long time bootleg favorite for fans. The sudden praise for the song annoyed me a bit.
I really really dig Sea Change, and everything before that era. Still.Just don’t read the media and the interviews. I wish Beck stopped caring for what people think about his music, humor, irony and Loser-lyrics. Fuck ‘m, play.
This is one of those albums that grows on you after each listen. There are so many things happening underneath, sounds that you don’t hear at the first listens. The songs seem really simple and straightforward, but it’s just a first impression, be assured. Beck is back with an excellent album, and songs like Youthless, Chemtrails or Gamma Ray are real gems. You can vote your favorite songs off this record at the following page: votesongs.blogspot.com/2008/08/beck-modern-guilt.html