On Morning Phase, renowned singer/songwriter Beck shows his age. From a musician that spent the 1990’s throwing quirky rhymes onto uptempo rhythms, Morning Phase shows a steep departure. Instead, his latest album is best suited for the background music at a Starbucks.

Beck started his career in the early 90’s, finding commercial success with his off-the-wall, lo-fi antics. His breakthrough hit, “Loser,” was released over twenty years ago (1993), and his fifth studio album, Odelay (1996), earned the musician two Grammy awards for Best Alternative Music Album and Best Male Rock Vocal Performance. 

Beck released a handful of albums in the 2000’s, each showing a shift from esoteric to mainstream. His 2002 album, Sea Change, favored simpler lyrics and live instrumentation over Beck’s trademarked lyrical style and heavy musical sampling. While Guero (2005) showed a brief return to Beck’s initial ways, his two follow-up albums, The Information (2006) and Modern Guilt (2008) were received with mixed reviews, with The Guardian citing the latter as “a vanity project.”

Now, six years later, Beck returns to the music scene with his 12th studio album, Morning Phase. The album opens onto an airy string-and-synth composition, “Cycle,” before flowing into the acoustic guitar-strummed chord progression of “Morning.” With quite possibly the least original opening lyrics, Beck dreamily sings “woke up this morning…” before squealing barely-audible lyrics that probably have something to do with a lost love. The chorus: “This morning, I lost all my defenses/ This morning, won’t you show me the way it used to be?”

And that’s just it, Beck. We want you to show us the way it used to be. Granted, Beck did suffer a serious spinal injury, and spent most of the time between Modern Guilt and Morning Phase recuperating. We’re happy he’s doing okay, but, well, we can’t help but long for the Beck of old. Morning Phases does capture the ethereal quality of a dreamlike state, but, after thirteen songs, it’s time to wake up.

I’m not saying this album isn’t good; it’s just a bit disappointing. I know it isn’t 1993, I know that Beck has grown as a musician, but I couldn’t help feeling a bit of boredom as I listened through this album. It’s very acoustic-guitar-driven, and the acoustic guitar isn’t necessarily the best tool for driving an album. Take a song like “Wave.” After a slow-building string/synthesizer introduction, Beck’s echo-filtered vocals flutter into the mix. The song is slow, tense, and a bit droll.

Some of the songs, in isolation, are quite enjoyable. Take “Blue Moon,” for example. The leading single for Morning Phase, you can listen to this fun song below:

Beck’s Morning Phases is due for release on February 25th. If you pre-order the album here, you will also receive early access to concert tickets for Beck’s upcoming tour. While the tour dates have yet to be announced, Beck is due to headline the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in April.

-David Melamed (@DMelamz)