Album Review: Beck – Ride Lonesome
3 min read
Beck is one of those artists who has spent a career making it almost impossible to know what he’ll do next — from the wonky brilliance of Loser and Odelay to the introspective beauty of Sea Change and Morning Phase. Seven years on from Hyperspace, Ride Lonesome, released via Capitol Records, sees him return to that more melancholic, stripped-back territory, reuniting with many of the musicians who helped shape those earlier records. Described by Beck as a heartbreak record about loss, it’s probably a project centred less around the genre-hopping we’re accustomed to, and more sitting still in familiar company – so with that said, let’s find out whether Beck’s latest ride is a lonely one, or whether it’s worth saddling up and joining him on a trek into the wild blue yonder…
We set off on horseback with title track Ride Lonesome – fantastically produced and composed, a slow track with a real cowboy lilt to it, an acoustic track with fantastic vocal harmonies that wouldn’t be out of place on the score of a Western film. How can Run Away compete with that? With aplomb, that’s how! Similar in the setup though with a less cowboy feel to it – the harmonies make the hairs on your arms stand up, and my only gripe is that it’s only 3:39 long! In the Night follows up, and for me the direction of the album turns to a downtempo almost lounge adjacent turn, with fantastic texture to the acoustic setup, with a slight hint of 1970’s soft rock & folk about the track, and this turn continues through Failed Words (though less lounge adjacent and heavier on piano chords), Bleed and Disappearing Act – it had me thinking of Zero7’s album The Garden in how both album’s tracks had texture and a musical setup which produced a warm, hazy feel.
Beginning with violins, For Your Love continued the well produce textured downtempo tracks, though this was more emotion provoking than much of the album prior to, and then Beck took the styles earlier Western-feel tracks and the lounge adjacent and meshed them into the fantastic Slow Canyon – probably the best track of the album – and then I found myself a little underwhelmed with It Ends Right Here… simple chords strums of the guitar. However, around 2 minutes in the track explodes to create more spine tingling sounds that blew me away. Falling Through My Hands is a well composed track with fantastic harmonies, though compared to what had come before it felt a little pedestrian, and penultimate track If You Don’t Know What Love Is is a real solumn, heart ache kind of track, a little melancholy, with an undertone of remorse, where the vocal tone takes centre stage. We finish with Beyond the Light – with more than a hint of Procol Harum’s Whiter Shade of Pale to the opening ninety seconds (and still undertones throughout the track), it has that feel of reminiscing over the past, remorsefully.
Ride Lonesome absolutely slays! Beck can officially turn night into day, darkness into light, water into wine and cats into dogs. This is a grown‑up album – personal, yet easily understood by everyone. The first half is simply mind‑blowing, though the standout tracks, for me, are in the second half. Incredible use of orchestra, yet simple sounds, layered to give the illusion of complexity. There are clear influences from the 1960’s and 1970’s in the compositions, yet there is no hint of anything feeling dated or done before – An extremely mature album, and surely up there with one of his best albums so far! (and yes I’m aware of how much of a ridiculously high bar it is to be even in that conversation) It’s worth every second you spend listening to it.
