The last time we heard a new Beck album, the global pandemic was just a few months away. ‘Hyperspace’ was released in November 2019 and its tour of the United Kingdom and continental Europe had to be canceled due to the coronavirus.
In the almost seven years that separate that release from today, Beck has released several solo singles and has collaborated with artists as diverse as Phoenix and Hinds. Now, finally, the details of his new work, ‘Ride Lonesome’, are known, which will be published on September 18.
As you might guess from its title, ‘Ride Lonesome’ marks a turn towards the codes of country and American roots music. We could already see it with the song that gives its name to the album, published two months ago, built on acoustic guitars, twang lines, enveloping harmonies and a desert atmosphere that translated the “solitude” of the title.
‘In the Night’, the new single, is available today. Once again, Beck uses acoustic guitars, string arrangements and harmonies to build a calm ballad of pure Americana that stands out, above all, for its chilling orchestral section. Written about a person who has become a memory, it is an exquisite composition in both its melody and its instrumentation. It will perhaps appeal not so much to Beck’s followers as to those who enjoy this style.
‘Ride Lonesome’:
01 Ride Lonesome
02 Run Away
03 In the Night
04 Failed Words
05 Bleed
06 Disappearing Act
07 For Your Love
08 Slow Canyon
09 It Ends Right Here
10 Falling Through My Hands
11 If You Don’t Know What Love Is
12 Beyond the Light
