Sea Change

Beck is bummed. Really bummed. And if song titles such as Lost Cause, Lonesome Tears, and Nothing I Haven't Seen don't make the point, his achingly sad lyrics and Sea Change's unerringly downcast sound do. 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, in particular the return of producer Nigel Godrich, who wraps Beck's gloom in a dreamy, warm blanket of soft strings and floating bleeps and gurgles. 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.

The Golden Age
Paper Tiger
Guess I'm Doin' Fine
Lonesome Tears
Lost Cause
End of the Day
It's All In Your Mind
Round the Bend
Already Dead
Sunday Sun
Little One

The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll