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Title: lazy lyrics, weak hooks, pseudo cosmology
Review: What made early Beck so compelling was his word pairings "Misery waits in vague hotels to be evicted" (Tropicalia); "I've been looking for my shadow but this place is so bright and so clean" (O Maria). These were not just odd and arresting juxtapositions. They conveyed a sense a beautiful sadness Beck appears to have abandoned. I find this album to be an excercise (as in tired) in self-indulgence. Yes, the instrumentation, overlays and influences are interesting, but there's just no real feeling. Call it what you will, to be it is overlayering at the expense of substance. I'm not a big fan of Guero, but this album doesn't have anything close to the hooks of "Girl" or "e-Pro". The more promising hooks appear to be quickly abandoned.
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