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 When you’re a kid, I strongly believe that there are a couple people that influence your musical tastes. Be it a parent, a friend, or a neighbor.
For me, that person was my best friend Alec’s older brother. There we sat, in Alec’s basement, playing N64 and eating packages of Oreos while his older brother bumped some of the 90s greatest tunes. For that, I hold Beck very close to my heart. Anytime I hear some of Beck’s early tracks I go back to those nights where I first learned the importance of two turntables and a microphone.I approached Modern Guilt with caution. Beck’s last two albums, The Information and Guero, seemed recycled and much less original than his early works. Modern Guilt is rare in the fact that it is a complete album. Each song flows with ease to the next one, which few albums in this era of music do. Yet, the songs themselves aren’t very memorable. “Orphans”, “Modern Guilt”, and “Profanity Prayers” are catchy, fun, and by far the album’s the strongest tracks. The album’s two singles “Chemtrails” and “Gamma Ray” are muddled together with echoing vocals and almost identical guitar riffs and poor choices for singles because of that. “Replica” is Beck’s so-so attempt to once again reinvent as he dabbles in a genre he cannot pull off (math rock). The album’s final track, “Volcano”, seems as if it was stolen right off of his 2005 album Guero. The rest of the songs on the album I can take or leave. They certainly aren’t going to make the top 25 most played on my iPod. As much as the album flows together, Modern Guilt, really is a tale of two different sounds, something I enjoyed very much. The first third of the album is a structured, alt-rock groove. While the second third of the album is an electronic, dancing soiree of beats with major influences of math rock. The rest of the album returns to a predictable, somewhat boring alt-rock jam. The songs may not be memorable, but the sound of the album is. The lyrics of the album, however, are stunning as always from Beck. The opening lines of the album, “Think I’m stranded but I don’t know where / I got this diamond I don’t know how to shine”, describe a certain ignorance and frustration in a way that rivals Conor Oberst. Each song examines another feeling that the last song overlooked. “Chemtrails” looks into paranoia. “Youthless” confronts apathy. But the albums crown jewel is “Modern Guilt”. “Don’t know what I’ve done but I feel ashamed” Beck explains in the song. Becks lyric’s on Modern Guilt not only examine the psychology and emotions of the individual, but also the sociology of the masses. Modern Guilt identifies society’s trend and points a finger at them. The albums name even questions today’s society. I want to like Modern Guilt much more than I actually do. While this album is a huge improvement over Beck’s albums The Information and Guero, it still fails to return Beck to the form that he once was. Don’t get me wrong; Modern Guilt is a good album. The song “Modern Guilt” is Beck’s best track of the 21st century and Beck’s collaboration with rising indie artist Cat Power on two tracks (“Orphans” and “Walls”) allowed me to geek me out. I also can’t help but admire Beck’s attempt to experiment with new sounds (“Chemtrails” Neil Peart-like drums for example). It’s been almost 10 years since I first heard “Where It’s At” for the first time in Alec’s basement. While Beck’s music has had some ups and downs, he still is the artist that produces some great songs that white kids from the suburbs can actually dance and sing to. For any Beck enthusiast, this album is a must buy. For the common fan, perhaps download it. For anyone else, check out the album’s title track “Modern Guilt”. That song may help create a memory like Beck has already done for me. 7/10 Download Now: “Orphans” and “Modern Guilt” |