Beck
The Information

THE REVIEW

If one thing is certain, it's that the blond sprite from LA is not in a creativity crisis. There are more styles, sounds, and genres in this album than in the decade-long production of entire labels. However, let's also acknowledge that the unparalleled melodies of "Sea Change" were a pearl destined to remain unique. Beck, the real Beck Hansen, seems to be elsewhere, and perhaps no album like "The Information" has tried to encompass the boundless musical horizons he moves on, without completely succeeding. All at the cost of a discontinuity and disharmony now excessive and almost irritating.

Attempting an organic description of the album is impossible; it must necessarily be done track by track, as each is a world in itself.
The record opens with "Elevator Music", a hip hop with lo-fi country sounds akin to "Odelay", already revisited in the previous "Guero".
You can feel that this album is a definite step forward compared to the aforementioned "Guero" in "Think I'm In Love", a pop gem with those strings that appear at the end, when you least expect them. Beck still composes unparalleled pieces.
"Cellphone's Dead" is the embarrassing first single of this album. Hip hop devoid of originality, with instrumental interludes bordering on kitsch. Beck knows how to ruin everything too.

You're already confused, and two breathtaking tracks arrive, "Strange Apparition", an easily catchy mix of alt-country sounds that may remind you of American Music Club, and then "Soldier Jane" (beautiful psychedelic video, rush to YouTube) a splendid ballad in a typically Beck style (and here we're more in the realm of Yo La Tengo, just to give you an idea).
Then our blondie returns to his roots with "Nausea", delivers a slow track with "New Round", winks at trip hop with "Dark Star" and "We Dance Alone" (but is it Beck or is it Massive Attack?), seems to pay homage to early Blur in "No Complaints", shows his worst in the cacophonies of "1000BPM", amuses his producer Godrich with "Motorcade", full of unbelievable digital effects just like the subsequent title-track "The Information", which is still one of the best pieces, mimics Air in "Movie Theme", and closes with "The Horrible Fanfare/Landslide/Exoskeleton" ten minutes of psychotic ambient music, the soundtrack of Beck's ghosts.

In short, a challenging album, like this review, which is also difficult to judge and leaves a bittersweet taste in your mouth. Surely the work of a genius-wannabe rather than a genius. Probably Beck is the only current artist capable of crafting a vast and complex album like this, but the doubt remains that the whole operation is made more to amaze than to captivate.

The DeReviewer thus refrains from giving a score, preferring to leave the difficult verdict to posterity.