Album Details

• Artist: Beck
• Album: The Information
• Label: Interscope
• Year of Release: 2006
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: MusicCritic on 2011-03-21

Media

Beck's eclectic career has been well documented. He's dabbled in hip-hop, folk, dance, and just about everything else you can imagine. He was once famously touted the next Dylan. Being one of the most unpredictable artists of his generation, Beck's new albums now create an unprecedented level of anticipation. This time, however, Beck's follow up to 2005's Guero almost makes sense - something we're not used to from the eccentric songwriter.

Much of The Information is half-sung, half-spoken, stream of consciousness rambling, which we became acclimatized to on Beck's breakthrough album Odelay. And while we're used to Beck branching off in wildly different directions, Information finds a home comfortably in between Odelay and Guero - merging the folk-hop elements of the former with an ear for melody that was only present in the latter.

Unfortunately, Beck has mastered this genre that is uniquely his own to the point that he sounds like he's on auto-pilot most of the way through. 'Elevator Music,' 'Cellphone's Dead,' and 'Soldier Jane' all sound exactly like Beck songs, which paradoxically is not what we've come to expect from him. Only in the last third of the album do things start to pick up, as '1000BPM' and the title track add some comforting confusion into the mix.

The staple of Beck's work has always been unpredictability, and while The Information is in reality a very good album, Beck will likely disappoint his fans by giving them exactly what they expected.

User Reviews and Comments

Review:

on 2007-05-31 sublogic Said:

Yet another great offering from the mad genius. The best way to describe the sound of Beck’s latest, is a hybrid of his previous releases, Midnite Vultures and Odelay. Whether it’s the alt-soul vibe of “Elevator Music” and “Think I’m In Love” or hip-hop rooted tracks like “Cellphone’s Dead”, Beck keeps the album entertaining and moving all over the place. By the way I think this is some of the best writing he’s ever done. When I first heard it, I searched for “Strange Apparition” on-line so I wouldn’t be upset when I found out it was a cover. I was elated when I found that it was not. “Nausea” was probably my favorite song for it’s menacing creativity. Bonus: best performance on SNL of 06.
Rating: 8/10