***ALBUM OF THE MONTH | November 2019***
Beck
Hyperspace
Capitol
Buy via Official Store | Listen Below
When it comes to Beck, most critics settle on the descriptor “chameleon” to define his genre-hopping exploits since his debut album, 1993’s Golden Feelings. It’s meant as both a compliment and a way to ease the pressure of trying to define a musician who can give us the folk rock of a “Heart is a Drum,” the indie vibes of “Loser” and hip-hop inspired treats like “Where It’s At.” But it’s an easy out.
What Beck has come to symbolize in his career as a journeyman singer-songwriter is both defying and inspiring. So a quick fix word like “chameleon” does him a disservice, for he doesn’t just blend in to new environs. He stands out.
He’s an artist in the truest sense of the word. Someone who lets the music chart his course. Who goes where the rhythm moves him. Who wallows in the sorrows and celebrates the highs. He is equally at home stripped bare with just an acoustic guitar and microphone as he is with a bank of synths and drum machines buzzing in tune with computers ready to be manipulated.
He’s a musician. An artist. And so he goes where the music takes him.
With his latest album, the quicker than normal follow up to 2017’s Colors, Beck plots a course for Hyperspace and embraces the freedom of being Beck. The album’s decidedly 1980s era cover art which looks like the lovechild of a Japanese advert and Miami Vice coupled with the songwriting and production partnership with Pharrell Williams clues us in early into what will be contained within the grooves.
But again, Beck isn’t blending into the soundscapes he and Pharrell are creating. Oh no, this isn’t some B.E.C.K. venture. This is very much Beck. Albeit a Beck who is more open to collaboration and the input of others.
Throughout Hyperspace you will catch glimpses of guest artists like Coldplay’s Chris Martin on “Stratosphere” or Sky Ferreira on “Die Waiting.” You’ll find Beck collaborating with the aforementioned Williams, and writing and producing with Adele’s main man Paul Epworth. But these collaborations don’t obfuscate Beck’s own vision, but rather they help to solidify his focus.
As a result of the collaborations and as a byproduct of inviting more people into his private recording space, the album ends up feeling lighter, brighter and more open without trading off any of the intimacy or connection we’ve come to expect. It’s an album of energy with a futuristic vibe best exemplified by opening trio of tracks.
The quick intro of “Hyperlife” finds Beck musing on passion and desire before quickly sliding into a bed of warm synths and chimes for the blissful and calming “Uneventful Days,” set against a skipalong beat. Drum drill beats merge with blues slide guitar and harmonica in “Saw Lightning” with its Rolling Stones-esque “Miss You” callout and its bar-by-bar ascension to a rising a level of jubilance within an electro-gospel grab bag of beats. There’s a compelling energy present that gathers you up in its forward momentum.
Many of the songs feel broader than their minimalist approach, like the murky funk of “Star,” as if the space allows them to breath and grow in stature as a result. Many of them feel purpose built for swarms of sweaty bodies to sing along to, like “Chemical” with its gentle build of anticipation that offers a beautiful summation of love disintegrating as Beck sings of the illusions of love and it all coming to an end (“Found a love, just a fantasy / Beautiful and ugly as a night could be / And I don’t lose any sleep, honestly”).
Similarly, “Die Waiting” is a cruisy drive at sunset with its longing for love. Beck delivers lines like “When the money runs out and the walls close in / I’m gonna wait on you” with a sense of longing in this hook-laden chorus. And the brilliant “Stratosphere,” set against a jangling guitar riff, offers a sense of hope as it explores the distance between one’s desires and the grounding of being home. It was could easily be read as a metaphor for success and touring, Beck sings of “nowhere to go from here / in the stratosphere / be back home another year.”
There’s a constant lyrical theme of longing set against the future-retro soundscapes being created. A desire to connect. A feeling of isolation and comfort being just beyond reach. There’s multiple calls to be “with you,” sometimes these moments are realized and sometimes they slip through Beck’s hands. Either way, that desire remains present.
In the trippy groove of “See Through,” which sees Beck teaming up with longtime compatriot Greg Kurstin, Beck sings, “Going out of my mind / You know I’m dying to meet you” and in the floating orbit of “Dark Places” he laments, “Time moves on and on and love it goes / now she’s gone and all I see are shadows” whilst moments later he offers, “There’s a place in the world for you and I” with a sense of hope and resolution.
The album closes with “Everlasting Nothing,” a song that combines the best elements of what has come before it. It has a grandiose nature to it without being pompous or stinking like it’s trying too hard. Again Beck is at his most accessible with a vocal melody that begs you to sing along. The song lifts your spirits in a way that makes you feel as though you are bonding with the song. Again it feels made to be sung by sweaty throngs (“I woke up in a movie / Didn’t know if it was my whole life / When it ended, I laughed before I cried / In the everlasting nothing”). The song builds to a euphoric climax with gospel choirs wailing beneath Beck’s vocals. But as he does elsewhere on the album, Beck plays things with restraint and allows the song to settle before it gets carried away.
Restraint is probably the most apt descriptor for Hyperspace. It’s not an album that comes charging at you. Instead, it invites you in and slowly reveals itself over repeat listening sessions. Maybe that’s a risk in this instant-hook instant-hit musical landscape. But it’s what Beck does best. Follows his muse wherever it leads. It’s what sets him apart. And what makes Hyperspace such a standout and rewarding listen.
Notable Tracks: "Die Waiting" | “Everlasting Nothing” | "Saw Lightning" | “See Through” | “Uneventful Days”
BUY Hyperspace via Beck’s Official Store
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