Morning Phase – Beck

Year	Album	Artist	Stars	Score	Genre
2014	Morning Phase	Beck	★★★	65	Rock	Alternative Rock	Indie Folk

Beck has always been a bit of a musical shapeshifter, changing the tone and styles of his music as he sees fit to leave an impression on the music industry. And he knows how to make good music no matter what shape he’s taking at any given time. 

While I tend to prefer the louder, more quirky side of Beck, on 2014’s Morning Phase, he returns to his mellow, soft rock mode for the first time since 2002’s Sea Change and 1998’s Mutations Morning Phase is warmer and the most musically consistent of the three. 

As the album’s name suggests, the music feels like being touched by the gentle warmth of a sunrise on a dewy morning. Lush string sections and epic, echoing harmonies accompany Beck’s calming vocals and soft acoustic chords across a collection of 13 mid-tempo tracks. 

Listening to the album I also get a bit of rock nostalgia sprinkled here and there. “Heart Is A Drum” and “Turn Away” feel very Pink Floyd influenced in terms of their sound, with the latter also having some Simon & Garfunkel kinds of harmonies. “Black Bird Chain” and “Don’t Let It Go” have some R.E.M. and softer Pearl Jam to them. And “Waves” always reminds me of the chord progression and medley on Bjork’s “The Hunter,” even if it’s stylistically pretty different. 

It is impossible though to listen to Morning Phase without thinking about Sea Change, because the two really are cut from the same cloth. Even the opening tracks on each, placed side by side, sound like musical siblings. 

Morning Phase’s strengths are its smooth production and some of the forward momentum here that keeps things going compared to Sea Change, which drags on at points. But Morning Phase does lack the tension and mystery found on Sea Change’s best cuts — “Paper Tiger,” “Lonesome Tears” and “Round the Bend.” 

And since this is his second time approaching similar material, a lot of it feels derivative. The loud, forward vocal mix throughout the record, paired with the way Beck sometimes over-enunciates the lyrics, almost sounds like he’s someone doing their best over-the-top Beck impression, instead of him just going for something new like he usually does.