BECK: The Information (Interscope)

Beck provides a DIY cover for The Information – graph paper and stickers – and the music contained within is just as wide open. Working with producer Nigel Godrich might suggest it's a return to the acoustic delights of Mutilations or the melancholic melodicism of Sea Change, but The Information is all Becks combined – old-time folkster, post-modern popster, grunge slacker, hip hopper and funky beat master. There's a lot going on here but perseverance pays off, the acoustic pop of Think I'm in Love, No Complaints and Strange Apparition blending smoothly with the beat-happy drive of Nausea and the title track.

JEFF CRAWFORD