Albums Of The Year: No. 4

BECK - 'The Information'

Thank god for Beck! It was really touch-and-go for a moment there, and I'd almost given up hope, but then along came Beck with his silly hair to prove that a highly-anticipated follow-up album from a mainstream artist could actually be good. No, not just good, but blinding.

While others around him were happy to lazily fart out random sounds and release them as megabucks follow-ups (yes, Killers and Kasabian, I'm looking at you), Beck actually remembered he was a musician, and a bloody good one at that. A few people (not me) thought his last release 'Guero' was the sound of Beck treading water, a semi-return to form if a little lacklustre. I disagree, but if the same analogy were to be used here then 'The Information' sees Beck swimming the fucking channel. Take that, diatribe lovers!

Huge in scope, styles and influences, 'The Information' is one of the most well-conceived, executed and downright odd pop albums you're likely to have heard in the last decade. There's none of this Kaiser Chiefs baloney of funny lyrics and shouting "oooooooOOOOOOHHH" every 2 seconds, or whining about girls looking good on dancefloors. No, Beck gets down to the basics of infusing catchy-as-fuck arrangements with well-constructed melodies and vocals.

In the first 30 seconds of opening song 'Elevator Music' he hits us with "making my move and my move's like a bell / A little worse for wear but I'm wearing it well" and immediately we know what we're in for - a spectrum of spitfire raps with mellowed-out grooves.

'Cell Phone's Dead' sounds like a cross between Gorillaz and an 80's teen comedy soundtrack. Which, obviously, means it's mega. Even the slower tracks like 'Soldier Jane' would go down well at a raging par-tay. Yes, in an age where the Chilli Peppers have gone all James Blunt on us, Beck has taken it upon himself to bitch-slap us with a funk-induced sledgehammer and scream into our dazed faces "remember when music was FUN?!"

And the best bit is the CD comes with a blank booklet and a sheet of 20 or so stickers... Yep, that's right, it's make-your-own-artwork time! Jumanji!

Bravo Mr Hansen.