We kicked off our Saturday by seeing the Fleet Foxes for the third time this year. They were absolutely incredible, one of my favorites sets of the day as the band continues to top themselves each time I see them. On top of that, their onstage banter/comedy was unexpected, but very funny.

The Drive-By Truckers put on a tight demonstration of Southern Rock the way it should be. The highlight was the extended story intro of “18 Wheels of Love,” which if you haven’t seen live, hope you do the next time you catch DBT. I caught Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears on the recommendation of many and was glad I did. They guy makes no secret his desire to be the next James Brown, and if this young Texan keeps at it, he’s got the pipes and musical talent to make him famous. Britt Daniel was in the crowd for this set, which is fitting enough, consider Britt worked on Black Joe’s record.

Erykah Badu started her set in typical diva fashion – late. Despite her tardiness, I was absolutely enamored with her set. It was my first time seeing her and it was great watching her huge band and huge beats, all powered by her huge hair! Going from one extreme to the other, I next checked out John Fogerty, whose set was a nod to the greatness he created with Credence Clearwater Revival. Honestly, people all around lost their heads as Fogerty rolled out one CCR tune after another. It was just about as close as I’ll ever get to seeing and hearing a band that was on heavy rotation during my youth.

Going into this festival, the headliners did very little for me. I wasn’t really interested or excited about seeing any of them. On Friday, I stuck around and was rewarded with a great closing set from Manu Chao. Last night offered the dilemma of choosing between Robert Plant & Allison Kraus or seeing Beck. All day I was set on seeing the former as I’d never seen them before and have seen Beck plenty of times. That changed around 6pm when the excitement around the festival convinced me that seeing Beck was the right thing to do. I’m glad I did. Starting his set out with “Loser” was an absolute shock (didn’t think he played that anymore) and a catapult into a set that was filled with generous samples from his catalog including Modern Guilt material for the first time, which sounded great. It ended up being my favorite set of the day. Make sure you check him out on this tour.

Fleet Foxes

José González

Drive-By Truckers

Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears

Erykah Badu

John Fogerty

Iron & Wine

Beck

Beck is like an old friend from college. You can go years without talking to one another, but as soon as you pick up the phone and begin a conversation, it’s like you just saw one another yesterday. The biggest difference between the two for me, however is that Beck’s got me beat with picking up that damned phone—while he just released The Information back in late ’06, there are probably more than a few friends I owe a damned call too since then.

While The Information served as one of my faves from ‘06, I have to admit that I went on a bit of a Beck bender, and after wearing out the disc and complimentary DVDs time and time again, I had to go on a sabbatical from the alterna-king. After I heard the news two months ago that Mr. Hansen was to bring forth his eighth installment of eclectic beats and spoken-word rhymes, I was pretty pumped. When I heard that Danger Mouse was the man assisting behind the scenes, I got even more stoked.

Which brings me to the now, sitting cross legged on my pink bed, head bobbing and shoulder shaking as I type with various hair dye chemicals on my head. I keep going back and forth in my head—what do I make of this Modern Guilt? Does it blow me away? No, not exactly . . . Is it what I envisioned as the bastard love child of one of today’s most genius musicians and hottest It producers? Hmmm . . . Cat Power’s on the album, right? (Actually, although she chimes in on the airy album opener “Orphans” and also the Gnarls Barkleyesque, bass-ridden “Walls,” I wouldn’t have even noticed her contributions without reading all the blog buzz ahead of time . . .) So does this mean it’s a miss? Or a hit? Or an eh?

My response is none of the above. It’s a solid Beck album. It’s definitely gone in a different direction than it seemed Hansen was heading with The Information and 05’s Guero/Guerolito. While the synth work is present, and Beck’s signature spoken/rap word style is still accounted for on multiple tracks, Modern Guilt delves into a more singing (yes, Beck singing! More so than rapping, talking, etc) and bass heavy, bluesy daydream trip. The album’s drawn comparisons to Sea Change, but I’ve gotta admit that Sea Change, along with Mutations, are the only two Beck records I do not possess in my overly populated CD library so I can’t fairly attest to that comparison.

I don’t think I’m in any position to say yet whether or not this is an amazing or disappointing release. I definitely think Modern Guilt will either infect me like a cold and I’ll end up kicking myself for saying anything bad later on, or I’ll listen to it 20 more times in the next month and forget about it until a lazy Sunday afternoon three years down the line.

It’s hard to say. But that being said, I will admit that the single “Gamma Ray” is ridiculously catchy, coming off as a Spaghetti Western alternarock gem—reminiscent perhaps of even the Mellow Gold or Odelay days. The track exemplifies all that is so radical about Beck—layered echoic synths, a fast paced bass bed that most musicians would kill to nab and a funky beat breakdown.

The only number on the album that rivals the addicting pop sound of “Gamma Ray” would be the title track itself, “Modern Guilt.” This sixth track also features an undeniable toe tapping bass line, filtered in with pianos, some signature beeps, guitar twangs and embracing Beck’s staple monotone singing style, all packaged together with the magical touch of Danger Mouse’s top notch production work.

Also notable are “Youthless,” a trance like dance number, the previously mentioned swanky folk Cat Power cameo track “Walls,” and the distorted, gritty “Profanity Prayer,” where Beck gets a bit falsetto action in with the never ending question chorus, “Who’s got an answer/for a Profanity Prayer.”

I think Beck fans will all take something different away from his latest effort. Where I think such melodically pretty, yet slower tracks as “Soul of a Man,” “Volcano” and “Chemtrails” are enjoyable filler for a record, I’m sure many others would disagree and look at this release as one of his best, or perhaps worst—or maybe like me, comfortably ranked somewhere in the upper middle.

I’m definitely feeling modernly guilty myself, wishing I could figure this album out. I guess I’ll have to wait until October, when Mr. Hansen hits up the Aragon here in Chicago with MGMT to see what his live set can do. I think that’ll be another few months worth waiting for—but in the meanwhile I think I’m gonna pick up my phone and call up some of those old friends of mine . . .

Now that Modern Guilt has been released to the masses it’s time for Beck to road test the material. I had already put him on the short list of artists I had to see at Austin City Limits this year, but news that MoB favs MGMT will be holding down opening duties over the course of two nights at the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago may just be the convincing I need to head across the state line.

Beck Tour Dates:

08/21/08 – Reno, NV – Grand Sierra Resort and Casino
08/22/08 – San Francisco, CA – Outside Lands Festival
08/24/08 – Bend, OR – Les Schwab Amphiteater
08/30/08 – Seattle, WA – Bumbershoot Festival
09/19/08 – San Diego, CA – Street Scene Festival
09/20/08 – Hollywood, CA – Hollywood Bowl
09/22/08 – Phoenix, AZ – Dodge Theater
09/23/08 – Albuquerque, NM – Kiva Auditorium
09/25/08 – El Paso, TX – Abraham Chavez Theatre
09/27/08 – Austin, TX – Zilker Park, Austin City Limits Festival
09/29/08 – Kansas City, MO – Uptown Theatre
09/30/08 – Minneapolis, MN – Wilkins Auditorium
10/02/08 – Chicago, IL – Aragon Ballroom
10/03/08 – Chicago, IL – Aragon Ballroom

Myspace: Beck
Myspace: MGMT

+Bookmark our Wisconsin and Chicago shows pages for all your concert announcements+

Each Tuesday stop by Muzzle of Bees for our recommended purchases for the week. Here are the albums we suggest for the release date of July 8th:

Artist: Albert Hammond Jr.
Album: ¿Como Te Llama?
Label: Black Seal
Myspace: Albert Hammond Jr.
Video: Albert Hammond Jr. – “Call An Ambulance”
MoB: Going into this record I had low expectations he could follow up the beauty of Yours To Keep. Since first listen it hasn’t left my car stereo and it’s in equal favor with its predecessor. If Albert keeps churning out records like this, there’s no reason for him to go back to the Strokes. Ok, he belongs there too!

Artist: Beck
Album: Modern Guilt
Label: Interscope Records
Myspace: Beck
Video: Beck – “Devils Haircut”
MoB: Streaming the first three tracks available in advance of the album’s release, I was sure this was going to be a brilliant effort from Beck. Combined with Danger Mouse sitting in the producers chair, I was hoping for a great summer spin from Beck. The record starts out great, exactly what I was hoping for. There’s some wavering/interest lost along the way, but by the time 30 minutes has passed the record is over and I’m probably ready to press play again.
Also: I still want to know your favorite Beck album(s) of all-time.
Finally: Happy Birthday Beck! I owe you a beer.

Find MP3′s at The Hype Machine or buy stuff from Strictly Discs | eMusic

Beck drops the Danger Mouse produced Modern Guilt next week. Clocking in around the 30 minute mark over the course of 10 tracks makes this one disappear before it hits your earbuds.

For those with interest you can stream three tracks (“Gamma Ray,” “Orphans,” and “Chemtrails”) over at iLike.

Discuss: Would you guys like to discuss Beck today? Have you heard Modern Guilt? What do you think so far? If you were to rank Beck’s releases in order of preference what would your list look like?

Here is my take on his catalog:

1. Mutations
2. Sea Change
3. Odelay
4. Midnite Vultures
5. The Information
6. Guero
7. Mellow Gold

Where will Modern Guilt carve a spot for itself in my list above? Did you know that this will be Beck’s 8th release? Please leave your rankings in the comments.

Myspace: Beck

Find MP3′s at The Hype Machine or buy stuff from Strictly Discs | eMusic