Hitting the streets on December 13, Mr. Hansen has rallied an eclectic troupe of musical thespians to spin new colors and flows on the tunes from this year’s Guero. As the king of kitchen sink production and songwriting, the concept of taking Beck’s imagination further through other minds is not only intriguing, it seems like the perfect way to ring out 2005 and get us in an optimistic mood for the new year.
The popular single “Girl” is taken from a sunny, picnic day of hot dogs and romps through old record store stomping grounds and into a solo stage appearance in an empty hall where Beck is a mere shadow at the piano; strobe lights and electric shock machines dance to the tunes of a high school marching band drummer, all compliments of Octet.
The remix of “Heaven Hammer (Missing)” by Air ventures into another dimension, where Gary Numan hangs out in the retro lounge of the Enterprise with a frothy cocktail in hand. The futuristic beauty in Boards of Canada’s remix of “Broken Drum” is slow and melting, heavy with absinth infused beats and layered late night echoes. The drama and intensity of hip-hop iconoclast El-P plays out on “Scarecrow,” and then Diplo introduces a bit-a twist-n-crawl on the bubbling “Wish Coin (Go It Alone).” And longtime producer buds The Dust Brothers get the conga line going round the outside with “Clap Hands.”
In his typical fashion, Beck is steeped in variety when it comes to his artists of choice, and also cherry picks the more innovative and emotive souls to do their magic. Guerolito is another notch in his belt in fighting against conformity, proving that success and great music can be made without any mold, rhyme or reason. Put this one on your Santa list and smoke it.
