Beck
has always been known for his ever-changing moods -- particularly since they often arrived one after another on one album, sometimes within one song -- yet the shift between the neon glitz of
Midnite Vultures
and the lush, somber
Sea Change
is startling, and not just because it finds him in full-on
singer/songwriter
mode, abandoning all of the postmodern pranksterism of its predecessor. What's startling about
is how it brings everything that's run beneath the surface of
's music to the forefront, as if he's unafraid to not just reveal emotions, but to elliptically examine them in this wonderfully melancholy song cycle. If, on most albums prior to this,
's music was a sonic kaleidoscope -- each song shifting familiar and forgotten sounds into colorful, unpredictable combinations -- this discards genre-hopping in favor of focus, and the concentration pays off gloriously, resulting in not just his best album, but one of the greatest late-night, brokenhearted albums in
pop
. This, as many reviews and promotional interviews have noted, is indeed a breakup album, but it's not a bitter listen; it has a wearily beautiful sound, a comforting, consoling sadness. His words are often evocative, but not nearly as evocative as the music itself, which is rooted equally in
country-rock
(not
alt-country
), early-'70s singer/songwriterism, and baroque British
psychedelia
. With producer
Nigel Godrich
,
has created a warm, enveloping sound, with his acoustic guitar supported by grand string arrangements straight out of
Paul Buckmaster
, eerie harmonies, and gentle keyboards among other subtler touches that give this record a richness that unveils more with each listen. Surely, some may bemoan the absence of the careening, free-form experimentalism of
Odelay
, but
's gifts as a songwriter, singer, and musician have never been as brilliant as they are here. As
is playing, it feels as if
singing to you alone, revealing painful, intimate secrets that mirror your own. It's a genuine masterpiece in an era with too damn few of them. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine