Beck shares his latest glimpse of Ride Lonesome, a dreamy new track that leans into acoustic guitar, orchestration and the kind of melancholy he has spent decades making sound beautiful. Beck is disappearing again, but this time, he wants you to listen closely. The eight-time Grammy winner has unveiled “Disappearing Act,” the latest song from his forthcoming album Ride Lonesome, and it might be the most entrancing preview yet of what he has been building toward. The track is out now ahead of the album’s September 18 release, giving fans another taste of a record that finds Beck returning to a warmer, more organic sound.
Watch “Disappearing Act”
There is an immediate sense of dusk hanging over “Disappearing Act.” Acoustic guitar and orchestration create an airy, almost weightless backdrop, while Beck’s vocals float through the arrangement with a softness that makes the song feel less like a traditional rock track and more like a memory slowly coming back into focus. It is lush without becoming oversized. The instrumentation seems to drift around Beck rather than accompany him, giving the song that slightly mysterious, suspended quality that has become one of his greatest strengths.
Produced by Beck himself and mixed by longtime collaborator Nigel Godrich, “Disappearing Act” also taps into the emotional territory that made Sea Change and Morning Phase such enduring favorites. But this isn’t simply Beck recreating an old sound. The new material has a lived-in quality, with familiar collaborators bringing years of chemistry to the sessions. For Ride Lonesome, Beck reunited with Smokey Hormel, Joey Waronker, Justin Meldal-Johnsen, Roger Joseph Manning Jr. and Jason Falkner, musicians who previously worked with him on Mutations, Sea Change and Morning Phase. The album was recorded at Room B at United Studios in Hollywood, with Godrich returning to mix the songs.
That history is audible. There’s a looseness and intimacy to “Disappearing Act” that feels less like a calculated trip back to Beck’s past and more like old friends finding a new rhythm together. Together, the songs paint a pretty compelling picture of the album. For now, though, “Disappearing Act” is the thing to sit with. It sounds like Beck stepping into the early evening, turning the volume down and letting the shadows do some of the talking.
Photo Credit: Marv Watson
