Let's get one thing straight right off the bat: Beck Hansen is the definition of cool. Throughout his decade-plus-long career as the music industry's most ingenious re-inventor, he has given us something dramatically new with each album, splashing through genres and eras like some mad new age cowboy determined to wreak havoc on the norm. He is truly a unique entity.
His 1994 folk-rap classic, \Loser,"" introduced him to the mainstream, while 1996's Odelay allowed him to blossom with widespread critical and commercial success. Its brilliant sonic collage is widely accepted as his masterpiece; Odelay's sheer genre indefinability gets at the very heart of Beck's bizarre, atypical nature. Beck has since dabbled in everything from spacey, crazy R&B to beautiful balladry, leaving an indelible mark on any area of the pop music spectrum he touches.
Guero, his new album, is a bit of a surprise in an odd way. The very thing that makes it surprising is its lack of surprise-in other words, for the first time ever, this Beck sounds familiar.
Instead of exploring new territory, Beck sounds instead like he revisits his own history, however far-reaching that may be. Guero includes songs that could have been written during each of his various past phases.
Do not get the wrong impression, however. By continuing in a familiar style, Beck's merely done what most artists usually do, and who can blame him? An artist cannot re-invent himself forever. The truth is Guero is fantastic-a collection of stellar songs that matches anything he has previously done.
""Girl"" is the most instantly catchy, breezy pop song Beck has ever written. In true Beck fashion, however, there are some really bizarre, twisted lyrics hidden in the sugary melody. As he sings the chorus lyric, ""I know I'm going to make her die, take her where her soul belongs,"" one knows this is no ordinary song.
One of the most impressive songs on Guero is the Bossa-Nova groove ""Missing."" Its swirling orchestration, churning rhythm and plaintive melody lend well to the lyrics' feeling of uncertainty. It is not quite clear what's gone wrong, but Beck does not exactly seem to know either.
He tries to search for a solution, all the while numbed and barely hanging on in the absence of one: ""The sun burned a hole in my roof / I can't seem to fix it / I hope the rain doesn't come / And wash me down the gutter.""
Beck is not afraid to have fun on Guero, either. ""Hell Yes"" is a delightful little romp which finds party-boy Beck in peak form. When he raps ""I'm moving this way / I'm doing this thing,"" and guest Christina Ricci tells you to ""please enjoy,"" you know you have found the party song of the year. It is hard to argue when Beck announces that his ""beat is correct"" and a robot voice agrees by chiming in with ""Hell yes!""
Beck's stark originality sets him in a world all his own. He has always battled the clich??, and with Guero he takes a broad look backward. But, who cares-he still wins the fight.
