CD of The Week

At long last, Beck has released a new, proper, good ole fashioned album. The uber-prolific, multi-faceted musician has kept busy over the past few years, but hasn’t released a "normal" Beck record since the summer of 2008. In the meantime, he spent time as a producer for Stephen Malkmus and Charlotte Gainsbourg, streamed cover versions of other artists’ albums as part of his "Record Club" series, released his Song Reader book of new tunes for other people to play and dealt with a back injury. So he certainly wasn’t resting on his laurels for five-and-a-half years.

Which brings us to Morning Phase, an album Beck has said is a sequel of sorts to his critically beloved 2002 breakup album, Sea Change. Certainly Morning Phase is musically on the same page, based around quieter acoustic-based songs and lush string arrangements from his father, David Campbell. Morning Phase was even recorded with Beck’s classic lineup of musicians who played on Sea Change (as well as many of his other records and on tour).

After opening with the brief instrumental “Cycle,” we hear two songs in a row that are very reminiscent of Sea Change tunes. "Morning" arrives complete with a twinkling xylophone that sounds a bit too much like a redux of Sea Change's opener "The Golden Age," and I can hear a bit of "Round The Bend" in "Heart Is A Drum." The truly mournful "Say Goodbye" is the first major highlight of the record, with a heartbreaking vocal turn from Beck.

Elsewhere, "Turn Away" is a gorgeousSimon & Garfunkel-tastic tune, with haunting doubled-up harmonies. "Blackbird Chain" moves from gentle verses to a bigger, almost psychedelic chorus and "Country Down" is a great, twang-y, countrified moment on the record, complete with a harmonica solo. Album closer "Waking Light" ties back around to "Morning" and further influences the theme of Morning Phase being an album designed to listen to in the early hours of the day.

Morning Phase marks the first time Beck has truly repeated a musical aesthetic on an album, as each of his records has always stood alone with its own unique style and vibe. And while it is a lovely record, it just doesn’t have the resonance of Sea Change's heartbreak. However, like a shark, Beck never stops moving. He already has another record in the works that could see release by the end of 2014. See Beck in person this summer when he plays the Firefly Festivalin Delaware.