Album of the Week: Beck, 'Colors'
by Jill Riley
October 16, 2017
After the release of Beck's critically acclaimed album, Morning Phase in 2014, he was ready to get back into the studio as he had some new ideas for a new record. Morning Phase had a more down tempo, somber tone, often described as a companion to 2002's Sea Change. Beck had a goal when he went back into the studio; it was to make an upbeat, happy record. It just took him a few years to get there.
Beck's new album, Colors, has been in the making since work wrapped on Beck's prior record, Morning Phase. Beck wanted to challenge himself to make an uplifting and happy sounding album, so he called on his longtime friend and pop music producer Greg Kurstin (Adele, Lily Allen, Sia) to produce the project. If Beck's goal was a collection of danceable, accessible pop songs, it only really takes one listen of Colors to hear that he succeeded. The songs are layered, complex, but have strong hooks and a polished production.
His change of gears into a more danceable and upbeat sound, as compared to Morning Phase, was evident in the release of the two singles "Dreams" in summer 2015 and "Wow" (I like to describe this song as fitting into the stoner, cowboy-pop genre) in summer 2016. Hearing both of those singles had Beck fans (including me) wondering if they were one-off singles or if the songs were a preview of how the next record would sound. Another year passed and finally the official announcement came out at the end of summer 2017 that the next record would be called Colors, and two more singles were released, "Dear Life" and "Up All Night". Another song I enjoyed from Colors is "Seventh Heaven," it's a total 80's sparkle jam. If you don't know what an 80's "sparkle jam" sounds like, listen to "Seventh Heaven."
Beck's new album Colors is out now and it's The Current's album of the week.
Resources
Beck - Official Site