Beck
Colors

After winning three Grammy Awards (somewhat unexpectedly) for “Morning Phase” in 2014 (Album of the Year, Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical, and Best Rock Album), Beck’s career suddenly experienced a new surge, even though the quality of his work over the years has never faltered.

The curiosity for this new, thirteenth, studio album “Colors” was therefore very high, especially because every album from the American genius is, traditionally, a story unto itself. The production is entrusted to the now very successful Greg Kurstin, Beck’s former keyboardist who, in just one year, has produced nothing but hits (Adele, Foo Fighters, Liam Gallagher).

If “Morning Phase,” in fact, was a great folk album (by the author's own admission, a sort of companion to the seminal “Sea Change”), this time Beck presents himself in a blatantly pop guise. At a time when the genre in question is at its peak, Hansen decides to show that he can do it, and perhaps do it better.

The result? A good album, with good singles, at times even excellent (the delightful futuristic pop of “Wow,” the second of four singles released over two years before the album), but it lacks a little of the soul of its predecessor. Besides, Beck has accustomed us to this: each of his creations is part of a constantly new journey since his early days.

From the tracklist and lead-off to the close with the shameless and entertaining single “Dreams,” bold funk enriched by a decisive indie rock interlude, “Colors” is a very colorful journey (a fitting title, there's no denying) through various and diverse worlds. There's the more commercial Prince of the successful “Seventh Heaven,” the alternative rock between Weezer and Ok Go spiced with the hip-hop of “I'm So Free,” the modern reworking of Beatles-like “Dear Life,” the more incisive and less laid-back Coldplay with “Fix Me,” the Police of “No Distraction,” and the Phoenix of “Square One.”

A non-essential but highly entertaining record, a palette full of sounds and colors featuring a versatile artist like Beck having more fun than ever. Sure, much better things have come from the pen of the blond songwriter, but this “Colors” is enjoyable and undoubtedly very engaging. Perhaps the only way (whether it's the best, it's too soon to tell) to release a record that didn't suffer too much in comparison with the beautiful “Morning Phase.”

Best track: “Wow”