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Sea Change
by Beck
Which Beck is it? The party-loving Beck of 'Odelay' and 'Midnite Vultures,' or the more serious, singer-songwriter Beck of 'Mutations.' On this latest release, it is the latter, as Beck reunites with Mutations' producer Nigel Godrich (Radiohead) for a set of darker, atmospheric, more acoustically-oriented tracks.
| LABEL: |
Geffen |
| RELEASE DATE: |
24 September 2002 |
| DISCS: |
1 disc |
| GENRE(S): |
Alternative, Rock |
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
100
E! Online
Many of these harrowing tunes, like "Lonesome Tears" and "Guess I'm Doing Fine" have the lonely blues feel of Beck's similar-sounding Mutations, and they definitely get better with repeated play.
100
Rolling Stone
A perfect treasure of soft, spangled woe sung with a heavy open heart.... It's the best album Beck has ever made.
90
Dusted Magazine
For the first time in his career he has made an album that is clearly not a product of “Beck”, the single-syllabled entertainer, but rather that of “Beck Hansen”, the person.
90
Neumu.net
Sea Change not only signals a pinnacle in his career but may just be remembered, in an environment fueled by accelerating cycles of disposable culture, as one of this young decade's best records.
90
Billboard
Beck has rarely performed with such maturity and confidence, breathing a rich, often haunting baritone into songs that seem to follow a plotline thread of despair after the end of a relationship.
90
Mojo
Sea Change aches too thoroughly to be mere career shift. It's the kind of album that at times seems too sad for the singer's own good. [Album of the Month, Oct 2002, p.90]
90
CDNow
Certainly his most personal record, arguably his best.
90
All Music Guide
What's startling about Sea Change is how it brings everything that's run beneath the surface of Beck's music to the forefront, as he's unafraid to not just reveal emotions, but to elliptically examine them in this wonderfully melancholy song cycle.
90
Spin
A supremely dainty-assed achievement that jerks real tears. [Oct 2002, p.111]
89
Austin Chronicle
Sea Change joins Weezer's Maladroit and the Red Hot Chili Peppers' By the Way on the list of beautiful-but-sad 2002 L.A. LPs.
83
Entertainment Weekly
With repeated listenings, the sluggish ditties transform into a beautiful, mournful hymn of love won and lost.
83
Stylus Magazine
It improves on Mutations with sparkling variation and a depth of emotion Beck seldom seems to achieve.
80
CultureDose.net
Sea Change is different (and, in a way, less interesting) than everything Beck has previously done, but he has a rare gift that he shares with precious few artists, Prince and Bob Dylan amongst them: no matter what he does, Beck will always be interesting.
80
Q Magazine
Once you've let it grow on you, Sea Change is largely so lovely that you'll forgive him. [Oct 2002, p.98]
80
Launch.com
This is beautiful music set in minor keys.
80
Blender
A great record to play at 3 A.M. [#10, p.112]
80
Dot Music
An emotive, often sorrowful work that features his most personal lyrics to date.
80
Splendid
Its startling brand of dreamlike space-folk, while reminiscent of earlier efforts like Stereopathic Soul Manure, is a wholly unique venture.
80
The Onion (A.V. Club)
Beck swaddles the hurt in a lush assortment of elements that would sound like Babel under anyone else's direction.
80
Delusions of Adequacy
One of his finest efforts to date.
70
PopMatters
Sea Change, while still a very good disc, is a disappointment in that it marks the first time Beck has ever retraced his steps.
69
Pitchfork
Here, as on Mutations, he confuses lyrical simplicity and standard-tuning, key-of-C songwriting with the unpretentious directness of his idols.
63
Almost Cool
An overproduced, sapped-down album that sounds really nice but fails to stick.
60
The Wire
The risky juxtapositions that mark his best work are critically missing. [#224, p.51]
40
Uncut
This is pretty gloomy going, not rendered much easier by the lugubrious baritone in which Beck delivers his emotional autopsies, or the vague, amorphous melodies. [Nov 2002, p.116]
40
Village Voice
The most disappointing aspect of this record is that Beck has fallen into the trap of confusing earnestly repeated clichés for personal lyrics.
40
New York Magazine
Beck desperately aims for Johnny Cash's funereal blues, but the unremitting bleakness of Sea Change more closely resembles alternative rock's limpid whine.
The average user rating for this album is 9.0 (out of 10) based on 102 User Votes
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