With his first single Loser and the accompanying album (1994), the then 24-year-old Beck Hansen became the favorite of alternative rock in one fell swoop. Beck was a true product of his time, zapping through four decades of popular music to his heart's content to come up with his own unique blend of rock, hip hop, folk and psychedelia. With the following albums he managed to put his fans on the
… wrong track again and again, although afterwards there is a line in his whims: after a 'typical' Beck album, a modest, folky album was invariably released. After the elated (1999) has once again mastered Beck's melancholy. The twelve songs on Sea Change are all serious in tone and provided with moody acoustic arrangements, with or without strings. While it evokes pleasant references to and it is fair to say that the songs on Sea Change do not have the same emotional impact by far. You don't often hear mediocrity with Beck, but this time it's lurking. (MS)more
