FUSE TV - Listen to Beck's 'Morning Phase' Now!

UPDATE (2/17): Beck's Morning Phase is now streaming eight days ahead of its release! Listen to the album in full at NPR's First Listen now. Get all the must-know facts about the singer's first full-length in nearly six years below.

The Buildup

Though Beck last released an original album in 2008, he never stopped recording and writing. Aside from various one-off singles and a song collection released entirely as sheet music, Beck reportedly has albums of unreleased material just sitting around. But at the beginning of 2012 he got more serious about putting together a record, laying down the skeleton of Morning Phase in just three days in Los Angeles. Then he spent the rest of 2012 tinkering with and fleshing out the songs until he had something close to a full album. But Morning Phase was born before then: a number of the tracks date back to 2010, when he spent time recording for Jack White’s Third Man label in Nashville.

The Sound

Beck has dubbed Morning Phase “California music," comparing the record to bedrock artists like the Byrds, Crosby Stills & Nash, Gram Parsons and Neil Young. In the tradition of California, you can feel a soft glow radiating off its early singles. He also has called the record a  “companion piece of sorts” to his chilled-out 2002 album Sea Change.

The Players

To nail that idea home, Beck recruited much of the band that helped him record Sea Change, including bassist Justin Meldal-Johnson, guitarist Smokey Hormel, keyboardist Roger Joseph and drummer Joey Waronker. Beck fans might recognize that group as his backing band on tour.

The Singles

Lead single “Blue Moon” rumbles, but quietly, with pounding bass drums grounding the softly-strummed acoustic guitars. It sounds assured, but Beck sings of insecurity: "Oh, don’t leave me on my own / Left me standing all alone.”