Modern Guilt

Performer: Beck
Distributor: Universal Distribution

Notes: In the early days of his career, after every relatively mainstream major-label album (MELLOW GOLD, ODELAY), Beck would then release a more experimental indie disc such as the lo-fi ONE FOOT IN THE GRAVE or the knotty STEREOPATHETIC SOULMANURE. Similarly, Beck has been fond of stylistic experiments such as the Brazilian-influenced MUTATIONS and the warped R&B of MIDNITE VULTURES. As he's matured as an artist, these smaller-scale releases and genre exercises have fallen somewhat off the radar, but the quickly recorded and loose-limbed MODERN GUILT recalls the feeling of those rough-edged earlier records. Paradoxically, it may also be his most immediately accessible and pop-oriented album ever. A stripped-down collaboration with Brian "Danger Mouse" Burton of Gnarls Barkley fame, MODERN GUILT is rooted in 1960s pop, from the British Invasion vibe of the bouncy "Gamma Ray" to the woozy psychedelia of "Chemtrails." Chan Marshall (aka Cat Power) also provides guest vocals on two songs, "Orphans" and "Walls." MODERN GUILT is available as a digital download, a standard CD, and a vinyl LP.

Rolling Stone (p.89) - Ranked #8 in Rolling Stone's 50 Best Albums Of 2008 -- "MODERN GUILT has plenty of electricity and playful funk..." Spin (p.102) - 3.5 stars out of 5 -- "[E]eerily soulful psychedelic rock, as focused as it is trippy, with the meditative nuance of 2002's SEA CHANGE." Spin (p.50) - Ranked #15 in Spin's "40 Best Albums Of 2008" -- "[T]he baby-faced boundary-buster delivered a spooky dose of downer psych." Q (Magazine) (p.134) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "Happily, the concise MODERN GUILT is a return to form....Always a musical magpie, here it's prog and pscychedelia that have caught Beck's eye." Mojo (Publisher) (p.104) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "MODERN GUILT is a record of adult confusion and world-worn sensuality, crafted into colour-saturated, three-minute frames. Wisdom and wonder align in the same package." Mojo (Publisher) (p.72) - Ranked #19 in Mojo's "The 50 Best Albums Of 2008" -- "MODERN GUILT proved Beck still had the ZEITGEIST on speed-dial." Blender (Magazine) (p.82) - 3.5 stars out of 5 -- "MODERN GUILT mixes ancient rock -- mainly the incense-and-peppermints-flavored '60s psychedelia of REVOLVER-era Beatles, the Zombies and Pink Floyd -- with the woozy, abstract beats Danger Mouse manages to turn into freaked-out fun."

Beck Hansen, the quintessential Gen X slacker, came up among the lo-fi ranks, pushing a blend of country blues, Dylan-inspired wordplay, punk, and hip-hop. His straight-out-of-the-gate 1994 smash, "Loser," made him a star seemingly overnight. Subsequent recordings found him alternately accumulating even more disparate influences in his "mess-thetic" approach (Prince, tropicalia, psychedelia) and scaling down for the occasional back-to-the-roots lo-fi album. He is recognized as one of the preeminent singer-songwriters of his generation.

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