CD of The Week

It’s time once again to take a dusky trip with Beck to “sad, acoustic Beck” territory. Back in 2001, the ever-shifting artist released the beloved, critically acclaimed, and heartbreaking Sea Change. In 2014, he revisited the realm of acoustic guitars and string sections on Morning Phase, which shocked everyone (especially Beyoncé fans) by winning Album of the Year at the Grammys. Now it’s Round 3 with Ride Lonesome, as Beck rounded up his same trusty backing band, his composer father David Campbell, and producer Nigel Godrich (on mixing duties this time) to make another trek into the dark night of the soul.

Ride Lonesome opens with its beautiful bummer of a title track, a gorgeous, stately, and slightly twangy tune that sets the tone for the record. You can’t help but read Beck’s 2019 split from his wife and subsequent divorce into these songs, as they’re all filled with loss, lament, and longing. On the stately “Run Away,” he plainly pleads, “Don’t you run away / Please don’t run away.” And on the lush “Failed Words,” Beck sings of “All my nights in vain / All my days in vain / All my words in vain.” Such total heartbreak is on display throughout Ride Lonesome, while simultaneously staying vague and non-specific. Beck’s emotional state is on display but you’re not getting anything beyond that… he’s not that kind of songwriter, even while writing more straightforward lyrics such as these.

For better or worse, Ride Lonesome remains with the same lush vibe through the entire record, with a layer of reverb almost everywhere, from the ghostly “Disappearing Act” to the twinkling “Falling Through My Hands.” All Beck’s backing musicians are top-notch players and flawlessly create the atmosphere he’s going for here. And it’s nice to hear Beck himself playing the harmonica once again on a few tunes.

An album this moody, visceral, and emotional is great to admire but difficult to spend too much time with too often. The key difference between Ride Lonesome (as well as Morning Phase) and Sea Change is that the latter simply has more memorable and catchier songs. But that certainly doesn’t discount the care, craft, and talent that has gone into creating an album as lush as this one. Ride Lonesome is another impressive addition to Beck’s diverse catalog. Where he rides to next is anyone’s guess, as it should be.

Beck returns to Philadelphia at The Met on Sunday, October 19th.