Mutations

Rock · 1998 · 15 tracks

Mutations

A warm, unhurried collection of psychedelic folk and bossa nova. Recorded live with a full band, it trades hip-hop samples for Moog synths and somber, surrealist poetry.

It's the record where Beck stops being a cartoon and starts being a human, but he keeps the sitars and the weirdness.

A sophisticated, unhurried melancholy that feels like a quiet conversation in a room full of old instruments.

Mutations · vs · Beck

Rainy Day+2.5σ

Rainy Day saturates this record far more than the artist's norm.

Tracklist · 15 Tracks

01

Cold Brains

3:42

02

Nobody’s Fault but My Own

5:03

03

Lazy Flies

3:43

04

Canceled Check

3:15

05

We Live Again

3:04

06

Tropicalia

3:21

07

Dead Melodies

2:35

08

Bottle of Blues

4:56

09

O Maria

4:00

10

Sing It Again

4:19

11

Static

4:20

12

Diamond Bollocks

6:04

13

Runners Dial Zero

4:06

14

Halo of Gold

4:30

15

Black Balloon

3:30

Moments Worth Waiting For

The mournful sitar and sweeping string arrangement that elevate the heartbreak of Nobody's Fault but My Own

The sudden shift into a bright, rhythmic bossa nova groove on Tropicalia that breaks the album's somber spell

The way the acoustic guitar and harmonica on Bottle of Blues capture a perfect, weary late-night barstool atmosphere

Sits BesideSee all

Them Changes

Shares indie folk, chamber folk (subgenres); analog_warmth, stripped_back, orchestral_arrangement (production style)

Parallelogram

Shares indie folk, psychedelic rock (subgenres); deadpan, gentle, nasal (vocal style)

Sleeper

Shares indie folk, psychedelic rock, chamber folk (subgenres); analog_warmth, stripped_back, tape_saturation (production style)

Pilgrim's Progress

Pilgrim's Progress

Shares indie folk, psychedelic rock, chamber folk (subgenres); analog_warmth, stripped_back (production style)

Square Shells EP

Square Shells EP

Shares indie folk, psychedelic rock (subgenres); wistful, contemplative, dreamy (moods)

the rest

Shares indie folk, chamber folk (subgenres); melancholic, wistful, contemplative (moods)

Sea Change

Shares analog_warmth, live_recording, orchestral_arrangement (production style); indie folk, chamber folk (subgenres)

Smoke Ring for My Halo

Smoke Ring for My Halo

Shares melancholic, wistful, contemplative (moods); deadpan, breathy, gentle (vocal style)

This Old Dog

Shares deadpan, gentle, harmonized (vocal style); indie folk, psychedelic rock (subgenres)

God Is Saying This to You…

God Is Saying This to You…

Shares indie folk, psychedelic rock (subgenres); deadpan, gentle, nasal (vocal style)

Reviews

Rolling Stone

NME

ew.com

The A.V. Club

web.archive.org

AllMusic

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