Disc of the day
The Pop Group - Y
For connoisseurs of pop-as-rupture-in-the-space/time-continuum
Features Disc of the day
Beck
Mutations
(Geffen, 1998)
Happy 10th birthday to the low-key follow-up (or not) to the zillion-selling Odelay.
More like the bare-bones acoustic folk he recorded for K Records (see 1994’s scratchy One Foot In The Grave) than Odelay’s post-modern scramble, Beck’s fifth album was originally intended for US indie Bong Load, for whom perhaps it was more suited. But following the whiff of success Geffen decided to release it themselves in 1998, with the proviso that it wasn’t intended as a follow-up to Odelay (that honour was reserved for patchy funk of Midnite Vultures). Mutations was just, you know, for kids. Whatever. Produced by the decidedly non-indie Nigel Godrich, this is a rich, spooky roots record that showcases the folk singer in Beck, the hushed-voiced, poetry reading hipster who can make a chorus of “la-la, la, la’s” (Lazy Flies) sound as plausible as the arch, urbanite brat of Devil’s Haircut. Unlike his lo-fi recordings, though, Mutations is immaculately constructed and deceptively rich in detail, a hint of psychedelia permeating throughout. Nobody’s Fault But My Own is a shame-faced confessional blues, subtly psyched-out with sitar and tabla under haunting strings, while the expressive Tropicalia is Beck’s lovingly-constructed tribute to the musical manifesto of ’60s Brazil. Mutations may not be the groundbreaking Beck album but it’s aged better than the rest combined. If I’m not happily listening to it in another ten years’ time, I’ll be surprised.
Jenny Bulley
Posted by Danny_Eccleston at 6:00 AM GMT 23/05/2008
Further Listening
Beck – One Foot In The Grave (K)
The Beta Band – The Three EPs (Regal Recordings)
Wilco – Sky Blue Sky (Nonsuch)
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The Pop Group - Y
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