Beck – 7th Level Music

Gustaf gets remixed by Beck and announces a massive U.S. / U.K. tour.

After a stellar year that saw them release their debut album and join IDLES on a largely sold-out nationwide tour, Brooklyn art punks Gustaf have returned with a fiery remix of their track “Design” by none other than the multi-time Grammy-winner Beck. Their friendship with Beck blossomed after he invited them to play a secret loft party at his New York apartment, and his re-work of their first ever recorded single comes alongside a throughly enjoyable Interview Magazine piece in which they discuss the merits of creating and sharing outside of the box. Today, they’re also announcing a slew of headline dates across the United States and the UK, as well as a Talkhouse conversation with tourmates IDLES.

LISTEN: to Beck’s remix of Gustaf’s “Design” on YouTube

READ:
Gustaf’s conversations with Beck for Interview Magazine
&
IDLES for Talkhouse

Audio Drag For Ego Slobs came out via Royal Mountain Records on October 1st to rapturous praise from the likes of NPR, NME, BrooklynVegan, DIY, Paste, and the band will continue to prove why they are one of America’s most “reliably fun bands” as they head out on a full US headline tour with stops at SXSW, Treefort, Savannah Music Fest and many more, before jumping across the Atlantic for their first UK shows, a run that will see them appearing at Brighton’s The Great Escape festival.

Beck’s remix of Gustaf’s “Design” is out now on Royal Mountain Records. It is available to stream here.

Tour Dates

2022
3/10 – Washington, DC @ DC9
3/11 – Durham, NC @ Pinhook
3/11-12 – Savannah, GA @ Savannah Stopover Music Fest
3/13 – Atlanta, GA @ The Earl
3/15 – Dallas, TX @ Sundown at Granada
3/16-18 – Austin, TX @ SXSW
3/20 – Tucson, AZ @ Club Congress
3/21 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Echo
3/23 – San Francisco, CA @ Rickshaw Stop
3/23-27 – Boise, ID @ Treefort Music Fest
3/25 – Seattle, WA @ Sunset Tavern
3/26 – Portland, OR @ Bunk Bar
3/31 – Minneapolis, MN @ 7th St Entry
4/1 – Milwaukee, WI @ Colectivo
4/2 – Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle
4/3 – Columbus, OH @ Ace Of Cups
4/5 – Toronto, ON @ Garrison
4/7 – Burlington, VT – Higher Ground
4/8 – Portland, ME @ Portland House of Music
4/14 – Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda’s
4/15 – Boston, MA @ Brighton Music Hall
4/16 – New York, NY @ The Broadway
4/29 – Nottingham, United Kingdom @ Bodega
4/30 – Edinburgh, United Kingdom @ Stag & Dagger Edinburgh
5/1 – Glasgow, United Kingdom @ Stag & Dagger Glasgow
5/3 – Dublin, Ireland @ The Workman’s Club
5/4 – Manchester, United Kingdom @ YES / Pink Room
5/6 – Leeds, United Kingdom @ Headrow House
5/7 – Coventry, United Kingdom @ Coventry Central Library
5/8 – Birmingham, United Kingdom @ Hare & Hounds
5/9 – London, United Kingdom @ Moth Club (co-headline w/ Kills Birds)
5/10 – London, United Kingdom @ Moth Club (co-headline w/ Kills Birds)
5/11 – Cambridge, United Kingdom @ The Portland Arms
5/13 – Brighton, United Kingdom @ The Great Escape Festival
5/14 – Bristol, United Kingdom @ Crofters Rights

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Tom at Hive Mind PR.]

Beck’s new album due October 21st.

Beck‘s new album still doesn’t have an official title, but it does have a release date – October 21st. Beck has said in interviews that the new record is inspired by some of his recent live performances, and two of the first tracks released, “Wow” and “Dreams,” are lively cuts that portend a return to Beck’s upbeat funk records like Midnite Vultures and Odelay.

Keep your mind open.

[We’d say “Wow!” if you subscribed to us.]

Rewind Review: Beck – Guero (2005)

Beck was eager to rock in 2005, as evidenced by the opening of his Guero album. “E-Pro” starts off with heavy guitar, stadium drums, and that funky ass white boy delivery of his that only he can pull off without sounding like a fool. I’m sure this was a hit back then, but why isn’t it still now? The breakdown on it alone is worth multiple spins.

“Que Onda Guero” is one of the funkiest tracks Beck had laid on us in years. It has a bit of that “Loser” feel, with Spanglish lyrics and references to things like Burger King crowns and Latino vegetable vendors. The beats from the Dust Brothers on it help, of course. You can’t go wrong there. They come back for “Girl,” on which Beck plays everything else and sings about his girl “with her cheap sunglasses walking crooked down the beach.”

“Missing” has Beck lamenting the loss of his girl. I don’t know if she’s the same one from the previous track, but he was heartbroken when he wrote it. You might not realize it at first due to the bossa nova beats and smooth groove, but can’t miss it with lyrics like “I prayed heaven today would bring its hammer down on me and pound you out of my head. I can’t think with you in it.”

I’m not sure which is funkier on “Black Tambourine” – Beck’s bass or the Dust Brothers’ beats. Money Mark’s organ work on “Earthquake Weather,” might beat both of them, however. The whole track is a great mix of 1970’s funk, trip hop, and acid jazz. “Hell Yes” is vintage Beck, with lots of quirky rapping, snappy electro-beats, and fun lyrics. I think, and hope, that it’s about a janitor who gets his groove on while cleaning floors in an office building and not giving a damn what anyone thinks.

“Broken Drum” is a lament to a lost friend, with nice lonely piano work by Beck. “Scarecrow” is a near-blues toe-tapper. “Go It Alone” is about Beck deciding he’s better off being a cool loner than getting entangled in a marriage that scares the hell out of him (and that’s Jack White on bass, by the way).

With all these songs about weird and doomed relationships, songs about death were inevitable. “Farewell Ride” is something from a dark southern swamp shack sung by someone with weathered skin and gnarled hands from fistfights and hard work. “I don’t see the face of kindness, I don’t hear the mission bells, I don’t smell the morning roses. All I see is two white horses in a line carrying me to my burial ground.” Good, heavy stuff right there.

“Rental Car” is about going as far as one can on borrowed time, and the closer, “Emergency Exit” is about someone coming to grips with death and feeling relief in knowing kindness and life will go on in their absence.

I seriously have no idea how I’ve avoided this album for eleven years. Guero would’ve been in my top 10 of 2005 if I’d heard it back then. Each track is good. There’s no filler here. Shame on me for missing it.

Keep your mind open.

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