Beck Unveils Details of New Studio Album, ‘Morning Phase’

After all the depressing news of the past week (the passing of Lou Reed, the cancer diagnosis of Fleetwood Mac’s John McVie, The Who announcing their final tour), at least we can now look forward to a new Beck album. Yes, the idiosyncratic sonic chameleon is coming back with his 12th studio creation, Morning Phase, his new album of all new material since 2008’s Danger Mouse-produced Modern Guilt. Though a specific release date isn’t known at this time, the LP will (as of now) drop some time in February 2014 (on new label Capitol Records).

Morning Phase is being described as a “companion piece” to Beck’s 2002 landmark Sea Change. It utilizes most of the same musicians that played on that album, including bassist Justin Meldal-Johnsen, drummer Joey Waronker, guitarist Smokey Hormel, keyboardist Roger Joseph Manning Jr, and multi-instrumentalist Jason Falkner. A press release describes the album as containing “stunning harmonies, song craft, and staggering emotional impact (…) while surging forward with infectious optimism.”

Beck has been having a very productive year: In December of 2012, he released the sheet music album Song Reader, and he recently released a trio of new singles (“Defriended,” “I Won’t Be Long,” and “Gimme”).

More details about the album (including the official tracklist) will be unveiled between now and then, so stay tuned.