Celebrated alt-rocker Beck is working on a new record, and it’s going to have the upbeat vibe of the singer/songwriter’s funky 2015 single Dreams. Producer Greg Kurstin, whose credits also include Adele and Lily Allen, explained that he and Beck are hoping to finish songs for a new album early in 2016 in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. “There’s a lot of variety, but it’s a lot more up-tempo than his last album,” said Kurstin. “I think Dreams is a small idea of what we have been working on.”
Beck released Dreams over the summer but didn’t confirm that it was part of a record at the time. He was aiming to make a song that would translate well to his live set. “It started as kind of this heavy garage-rock kind of thing, and it became much more dance or some other kind of hybrid,” said Beck to radio station Alt 98.7 (via Billboard). “It’s just kind of this raw energy thing, and this has a beat as well.”
The artist, best known for ’90s anthem Loser, has released nine studio albums, most recently 2014’s Morning Phase. Melancholy defined that record — which is often compared to his 2002 LP Sea Change — and it received critical acclaim. Prior to Morning Phase, Beck hadn’t released a record since 2008 with Modern Guilt. Morning Phase won three Grammys, including Album of the Year, debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard charts, and helped revive his mainstream popularity.
Kurstin said that the material for the new record reminds him of classic Beck records like Odelay (1996) and Midnite Vultures (1999). “It’s really fun and beat-driven. There’s all kinds of different things, and it’s really fun.” There isn’t yet a name or release date for the upcoming LP.
