Sea Change
Beck is bummed.Reallybummed. And if song titles such as "Lost  Cause," "Lonesome Tears," "Already Dead," and "Nothing I Haven't Seen" don't  make the point, his achingly sad lyrics andSea Change's unerringly  downcast sound do. While 1998'sMutations--arguably the  singer-songwriter's masterwork andSea Change's spiritual cousin--was  filled with unflinching self-examination, moments of levity were found in songs  like "Tropicalia." Not so onSea Change. Beck's woozy, almost narcoleptic  delivery seems to amplify the set's sense of ennui. But sad isn't necessarily  bad, and despite the somber tone, there's much to praise, not the least of which  is the return of producer Nigel Goderich (Mutations,Radiohead), who wraps  Beck's gloom in a dreamy, warm blanket of soft strings and floating bleeps and  gurgles. LikeDaniel Lanois, Goderich  is all about vibe, and even Beck's most bare-bones songs benefit from billowy  atmospherics. That's especially true of "Paper Tiger," a restless, slowly  building epic improbably propelled by a languid orchestra and Beck's  expressionless drone. The inky black feel of "Round the Bend"--a glacially slow  dirge with muffled vocals--may be the darkest thing Beck's ever written, not  counting the very grim "Already Dead." Whatever's going on in Beck's world, at  least we know he's purging, which, all things considered, may be better for his  soul than ours.--Kim Hughes