It could be argued that Beck‘s tenth studio album is victim of his immense talent. Given the release of superb singles such as “Dreams”, “Up All Night” and the jaunty, Elliott Smith-esque “Dear Life”, we could be excused for having lofty expectations of Colors. Alas, the remainder of the album is fine, but largely unremarkable by comparison.
Abandoning alternative rock sensibilities in his seeming quest to conquer commercial radio, this album comes off as simultaneously far-too polished in its performance and production, and almost lazy in its songwriting. Tracks such as “No Distraction” (reminiscent of Bruno Mars’ “Locked Out of Heaven”) and the uninspired album lowlight “Wow” leave the listener questioning whether Beck was simply treading water, fulfilling contractual obligations.
Perhaps he would have been better off just releasing singles this year.