Has anyone heard it?

Pitchfork has heard at least one track....

pitchforkmedia link

Much speculation has been made about Beck's forthcoming, as-yet-untitled album being a return to his Mellow Gold/Odelay mode-- a record many of his longtime fans would love him to make. The album has the Dust Brothers handling production duties, but the adenoidal slacker spouting long lines of non-sequitors dived into an pool full of concrete after Midnite Vultures tanked and he isn't coming home from the party. Irony, or at least Ironic Beck, is dead. On "Guero", he may borrow a page from "Loser" and sing the hook in Spanish, but he does so in his "mature" Sea Change voice, and manic observations on chipmunks and cheez whiz are ditched for an honest-to-God attempt at flow.
Beck's lyrics-- as well as the Dust Bros' beat-- are a Latin-tinged tribute to his humble beginnings in East L.A. However, his smooth inflection here sounds more like Delinquent Habits than "old Beck," and the flat bass and horn samples (with bits of dialogue from Latino homies interspersed through the track) don't help matters. Those waiting for another dramatic reinvention from Beck are going to be disappointed, and even the Dust Brothers aren't doing anything new here. There's some nuggets of gold on the new (likely still unmastered) record, but with "Guero", well...when you try on your clothes from 1993, do they still fit? Didn't think so. [Jason Crock]

3 1/2 stars

id like to get a copy of the leaked tracks... i'm thinking i wont be dissapointed. i have talked to people who disliked sea change, who disliked mutations, who disliked midnight vultures. so far every album he has released has become my favorite until his next one came out.

I saw it listed...but i'm too lazy to grab it...liked sea change and midnite vultures, btw..

I have heard the leaked album and have enjoyed it. I am a pretty big Beck fan so I might be a little biased. His website says that this leaked version is not the final version. In fact the track listing was released today and there are several tracks listed that are not on the leaked album. The song that Jack White appears on is missing from the leaked album.

http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/149...headlines=true

Out of the 13 songs listed on the site above, the leaked album has 7-8 of the same tracks, most likely early versions of them. The real album will be released towards the end of March but it could be sooner to minimize the losses from the leaked version.

Hope this is good. I like Mellow Gold and Odelay, love Mutations and Sea Change, didn't care for Midnight Vultures.

maxim says it's amazing!

I've liked everything so far...except Sea Change. Hopefully this'll be back on track.

Hopefully the release date is pushed up.

(Love the avatar Randy )

I liked all his albums except Sea Change. Maybe I haven't listened to it enough or I guess I was expecting it not to be so mellow.

i like sea change. it showed that beck is actually a talented songwriter in addition to a studio whiz and total fruitloop. it took a while to grow on me, because probably like most people, i wasn't expecting something that "different" from his style.

Wow, Sea Change is by far his best, most accomplished album. I love stuff like Mellow Gold but c'mon, he was just ripping off Pure Guava-era Ween with that.

I agree that Sea Change is his best album, although it took me a while to warm up to it. I purchased the DVD-A, and have really enjoyed it. I hope that his new release will be MultiChannel as well.

Album details were released today.

from pitchforkmedia.com

After months of build-up and a forehead-slapping delay late in 2004, concrete details are finally surfacing regarding the long-awaited eighth Beck album (yes, Stereopathic Soulmanure counts). Mr. Hansen's official website has revealed that his new album will be called Guero and will be released in the U.S. on March 29.
The follow-up to 2002's acoustic-heavy Sea Change was produced by former Beck collaborators the Dust Brothers and, according to several reports, will mark an attempted return to Beck's signature 'junkyard-funk' sound. But you totally don't have to wait two months-- the album's lead single is "E-Pro", and it'll be at radio stations (and presumable for sale, although we don't have confirmed details on b-sides or release dates there) sometime next month. Of course, whether they play it is something else altogether. How long have you been waiting for this tracklist, baby? Oh yeah:

01 E-Pro
02 Que Onda Guero
03 Girl
04 Missing
05 Black Tambourine
06 Earthquake Weather
07 Hell Yes
08 Broken Drum
09 Scarecrow
10 Go it Alone
11 Farewell Ride
12 Rental Car
13 Emergency Exit

Que Onda Guero is catchy as hell.

sea change is my favorite album by him. and yeah, the dvd-a is sweet! the first one i have ever bought, but it's amazing how much clarity a 5-1 mix brings to all the details of the song that you never noticed from the cd.

iTunes has a new 4-track Beck ep for sale. Says it's the Hell Yes! ep. I don't have the tracklisting in front of me, but they were remixes of four different songs. After first listen I liked it. The remix beats are probably much more inline with Midnight Vultures, but the sound of Beck's singing seems very Odelay. www.beck.com says this will also be released as a 12".

Edit: Tracks are:

1. Ghettochip Malfunction (Hell Yes)
2. Gameboy / Homeboy (Que Onda Guero)
3. Bad Cartridge (E-Pro)
4. Bit Rate Variations in B-Flat (Girl)

Wow...I am surprised by the comments on Sea Change. A couple of my friends insisted I pick it up and I was a little wary due to his previous albums which I liked but were sometimes a little silly sounding.

I got the DVD-A and it is the most listened to DVD-A I have (with exception to Yoshimi). Sea Change is one of the best sounding and well-written albums I have heard in the past few years. But I do like to depress myself from time to time.

I listen to it and I am truly amazed at how much his break-up affected him. Wish I could write like that.

Check out the E-Pro video:

http://www.nme.com/features/111376.htm#

Cool....I can't wait for the album!

Thanks CreatureX. That video is fantastic! Can't wait.

Album cover:

Strange, I prefer Mutations, Midnight Vultures, and Sea Change to Mellow Gold and Odelay.

Methinks maybe I won't like this new one?

I found this yesterday. I think you'll like it. Like I mentioned earlier regarding Sea Change, it took me a while to warm up to it. As far as Black Tambourine and E-Pro, I liked on the first listen. This will be quite the package.

Enjoy!
http://exodus.interoutemediaservices...d-86e8778be457

Ahhhh... validation!