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Beck’s back to hip-hop on this disc of pure infotainment.

Beck - The Information
Alternative Press - Tim Karan on 3/1/07 @ 12:44 PM - altpress.com

[4/5] Love or hate the music, you must admit: Few artists conceptualize an album as well as Beck. If he surprised some fans last year on Guero by reuniting with the Dust Brothers to update 1996's sampledelic stunner Odelay, fewer still could have expected him to return to his slacker hip-hop roots, with Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich at the helm.

But to abuse a cliché, going home again isn't always easy, or possible. "Think I'm In Love"-which began as a Krautrock rap track and evolved into Paul McCartney-esque catchiness-and the gorgeous pop craftsmanship that pervades "Strange Apparition" and "Cell Phone's Dead" remind you Beck abandoned his old, homemade hip-hop because he simply outgrew it.

The weakest tracks on The Information focus primarily on beats and rhymes, which Beck admits have never been strengths; the distance between him and his indie imitators on the spare "Nausea" and "1000 BPM" is uncomfortably small. But overall, this collision of dirty loops and polished pop is Information you need. (INTERSCOPE) Dan LeRoy

ROCKS LIKE: Beck's Mellow Gold • Cornelius' Fantasma • Buck 65's Talkin' Honky Blues

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