A lot has been made of the fact that Beck’s new album is the product of a break-up. What’s usually implied is that since Bob Dylan’s masterpiece, Blood on the Tracks, is a direct reaction to the end of his marriage, Beck’s album must also be, well, an instant classic. To a certain extent, this is true.
Sea Change, on its own, is a stunning album, full of plaintive beauty and mournful musings without dwelling on what went wrong. The problem: in creating an album of such emotional honesty, Beck has shed the personality infused in the rest of his albums. The greatest thing about Beck’s albums was the fact they couldn’t have been done by anyone else. With Sea Change, this individuality has been replaced by a collection of songs that try to be timeless, and in doing so become somewhat faceless. It’s like seeing your best friend after a rough breakup: you might find some hidden depths, but you’re also eager for him to get over it.
See Myke Atkinson’s review, too. He thinks Peter Hemminger is wrong… what do you think?