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The Tam News

News, Opinion, & Multimedia for Tamalpais High School

The Tam News

News, Opinion, & Multimedia for Tamalpais High School

The Tam News


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Beck Mellows Out for Morning Phase

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TONING IT DOWN: “Morning Phase” is Beck’s 12th album and has a much softer sound.

It’s been nearly ten years since Beck released his quirky, psychedelic and loud album “Mellow Gold,” which included “Loser” the song that put him on the map. Since then, he has revealed the ever-expanding spectrum of music that he produces. The album “Morning Phase,” released in February, is easily the most mellow music that Beck has ever released. Each song has nearly the same sound and feel. “Morning Phase” consists of Beck slinging on an old acoustic and slowly soothing us with tunes of loneliness, moving on, and the feeling of waking up in the morning.

The track “Morning” appropriately summarizes the sound of the album. It also happens to be the catchiest song. With somber strumming, ringing vocals and piano, Beck delicately sings about wanting to start all over again in the morning. The regretful mood makes this a nice song to play when feeling sad or nostalgic. “Heart is a Drum,” the following track, flows nicely with “Morning” as it maintains a similar acoustic sound and emotional feel. This sound and feel also encompass the following 10 tracks. If you aren’t feeling all that sad, I recommend you save yourself some time and simply listen to the aforementioned tracks.

Even though “Morning Phase” doesn’t necessarily capture the exciting blast of the mixed-genre music that Beck once displayed, it certainly demonstrates examples of it. In “Loser,” he sings of isolation with innocent metaphors like, “In the island of chimpanzees I was monkey.” However, on the song “Wave” from “Morning Phase,” he sings of the same feeling in a deeper, more reflective manner

TONING IT DOWN: “Morning Phase” is Beck’s 12th album and has a much softer sound.
TONING IT DOWN: “Morning Phase” is Beck’s 12th album and has a much softer sound.

“I move away from this place in the form of a disturbance and enter the world like some tiny distortion.” The ’90s freak that I once loved has matured into a very serious hipster.

“Morning Phase” is not an album that I will repeatedly be playing in my room for years to come—not even close—but that isn’t to say that it isn’t beautiful. Beck is a master at blending sounds, whether it be hip-hop with hard rock or now with “Morning Phase,” folk and soft rock. Depending on your mood and preference on acoustic-everything music, “Morning Phase” could fit you just right.

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