New Beck Album on the Way

Eric here:
Word was the new beck album leaked across the internet this past weekend. (Apparently, only some of the tracks are gonna be on the album) And yes, I got my hands on some mp3s. Speculation is that these are unfinished mixes/demos of songs songs and b-sides from the album. Could I stop myself from downloading these tracks crafted by my favorite musician? Nope. So here I am, feeling sorta guilty for opening a Christmas present early. Also, aside from live bootleg recordings of artists, I really think illegal downloading is wrong, but here I am, enjoying stolen music. Beck, I apologize. I promise, I’ll buy the album the day it comes out and all assorted merchandise (t-shirts, posters, etc.) that I can get my hands on.

The first promo record for the new Beck album has been released. It’s a nameless record from Interscope with a photo of a long haired man playing a gameboy plugged into a Marshall stack. The songs are remixes of songs on the upcoming album, loaded with sounds that sound like they’ve come out of a videogame. Beeps and blips replacing the instrumentals. Anyway, if you feel like buying one for your huge collection of beck memorabilia, the record is showing up on ebay. Pretty cool. I mean, it’s no Beercan 7-inch, but nice to know that there is going to be a new Beck album for the critics to hail as awesome. The first couple of music videos are reportedly coming out in February.

What’s my take on the new Beck album? Well, having only listened to mp3’s of probably unfinished tracks from the album, I’m not ready to issue my final verdict. All I can say is, get ready for some laid-back awesomeness. This is the kind of music to listen to while creeping along the streets in a lincoln continental with tinted windows. It’s very cool. Lot of “na na na’s”; Lot of beck rapping again... Hell Yes! This record’s gonna have the pulse to get you to summertime. Some parts are very reminiscent of Odelay. For me, there are traces of Cibo Matto’s 2nd album and Air’s 10,000 HZ Legend... A lot of these songs are gonna make for incredible remixes. Right now, it feels very minimal in a way, not like most Dust Brothers produced albums I’ve heard in a past, which makes me feel like there might be missing elements at this point. In any case, these don’t sound mastered and rumor is some of the songs are b-sides. It’s good to hear new fun beck music, but I’ll be happy to give out a full review once I hear the full album. -Eric

Update: beck.com says "as some of you may have seen, the new Beck album, tentatively due out March 28th, has unceremoniously been leaked onto the masses. This is NOT the final album. It is an early unmixed, unmastered version that is not the final sequence, so please be aware this is not what Beck intended to happen or bestow onto his fans."