Beck - Guero

Decade - 2000's


Beck - Guero (2005)

Poor Beck has the same problem as Radiohead - a massive single that the general public never forget and forever associate with the artist no matter how much they move on or change their style. "Loser" is that single for Beck and I have to admit that even though I knew Beck had long since moved on and had a prolific career, it was the first song I thought of.

Beck is one of those artists I've always thought I might like but just never got around to checking out. This album hasn't made me into a fan, but there are certain songs or aspects that will encourage me to check out his other albums.

Guero feels inconsistent, and not in a good way. It's main weakness is it's length - too many of the songs sound the same and have the same vibe for 13 tracks not to be a drag. The latter half of the album especially just drags and none of the last three songs make any impact. Sometimes the end can make or break an album, and in this case, it cast a shadow over the rest of it.

Still, there are lots of good things. Beck is obviously a very talented lyricist. The first track, E-Pro manages to appropriate a number of common sayings (" Shoot your mouth off but look where you're aiming") with just enough twist and edge to stop it falling into lame territory. It's interesting enough for a number of repeated listenings/readings too. Strangely, the music accompanying Beck's lyrics is often contradictory. E-Pro's music belies the darkness of the lyrics, as does track 3, Girl, which sounds exceedingly happy for such grave lyrics. It can be quite disconcerting.

Broken Drum is by far my favourite track, and other songs like Missing and Scarecow (which starts off sounding like Radiohead!) are great too.

Probably the first album so far I will be keeping - it's just a pity it didn't quite live up to what it could have been.

Score - 7/10

Genre - Indie Rock/Alt hip-hop/Electronic

Best Tracks - E-Pro, Broken Drum, Missing, Scarecrow

Recommended? - Yes