Beck's latest album, The Information, ventures into a myriad of territories he has trampled many times before. The album takes the listener on a magical ride through the many intricacies of Beck's always-innovative music and sees the artist combining his musical abilities from albums past.

With lyrics comparable to a liquid dictionary spilling its contents on paper, Beck seems to traverse the world of self-expression with the most agile of feet. Although you may be able to discern the many moody, melodic and sometimes monotonous vocals of his songs, it is highly unlikely you will be able to discover the true meaning behind them. Beck seems to have let go of all previously conceived notions of how lyrics should be written and strung together by connecting irrelevant verses into larger, somewhat hazy notions.

Even with this apparent drawback, Beck can somehow still create songs with seemingly deep and meaningful lyrics, while continuously begging the question. It seems as though in each of his songs, Beck can throw a myriad of ideas down onto paper and make it sound as though each is infinitely intermeshed.

But even with his lyrical prowess, the catchiness of The Information lies not in its words, but rather in its provocative rhythms. The album grasps your attention with its many beat-driven songs, while leading the listener along like a secondary heartbeat. Beck seems to know just how to give each and every song its own unique set of beats. In "1000 BPM," Beck seems to have somehow intertwined his trademark electronically driven rhythms with beats reminiscent of a steel drum band.

Although this tune is novel in many respects, not every song sounds as fresh. Beck's lack of innovation in allowing different portions of his music to lead different songs eventually forces the listener's attention to wane. With the same beat-propelled, calmly sung and monotonously strummed songs playing one after another, The Information leaves something to be desired.
Beck does, however, continue to keep things interesting by dispersing many beloved aspects of his prior albums throughout The Information. He does this by using seemingly arcade-inspired beats in songs such as "Cellphone's Dead" and by interlacing irrelevant sound bites throughout his music. With these creative sparkles, Beck does add some aspects that have worked tremendously well for him in the past. These acts of ingenuity in his musical ability seem to add some freshness to the album, but are few and far between.

Also, innovation shines through in the form of the soothingly seductive song "Movie Theme." Beck seems to be in a stargazing kind of mood on this tune as he explores his quieter, less rhythm-intensive side. This provides a great change of pace and a spark of hope for Beck's future albums. Beck holds true to his style of music and adds some flare when needed, but, unfortunately, he only explores the various niches he has opened up in the past.

If you're expecting to hear Beck's newest attempt to reinvent himself and his music, you may be sadly disappointed. Although he has come a long way since classic songs like "Loser" and "Where It's At," Beck has unfortunately slipped back into his comfort zone in his newest album and draws extensively from his prior musical experience. If you're looking for Beck's usual beat-laden, contemplative and lyrically intensive music, the album may prove quite satisfying; otherwise, don't bother, as Beck sticks mainly to recycling old sounds on The Information.

Grade: 3 out of 5