Guero

Beck - Guero
Critic Score
Based on 24 reviews
2005 Ratings: #113 / 512
User Score
Based on 397 ratings
2005 Rank: #222
Liked by 52 people
Sign In to rate and review

CRITIC REVIEWS

100
Alternative Press
Long live the king of hip.
91
Entertainment Weekly

When Guero ends, we don’t know this elusive man-child any better than we once did. But we have a lot more fun than we’ve had in a while trying to figure him out.

80
Drowned in Sound
For newcomers and fans just pleased to see a Gen X survivor still making credible records, 'Guero' is a joy.
80
Tiny Mix Tapes

This isn't to say that it's a disappointment. Far from it. In fact, it's probably best that the album we've been waiting so long to hear is as safe as Guero is. At this point we just want our Beck, and Guero is as Beck as Beck can be.

80
The Observer

Beck has reined in the slick showboating and rediscovered his sense of playfulness and a tender sophistication. And for all the genre-crossing bed hopping on display, Guero is an uncontrived, understated pleasure. To those that pay attention, it will more than suffice.

80
AllMusic

In many ways, Guero is deliberately designed as a classicist Beck album, a return to the sound and aesthetic of his 1996 masterwork, Odelay.

80
NME

'Guero' represents a very clever man being clever enough to recognise what he's good at.

80
Rolling Stone
His liveliest and jumpiest music in years.
80
The Guardian

Guero's easy, confident flow makes it easy to underrate but, despite his reputation as a slacker, Beck's biggest weakness has always been trying too hard. It's good to hear him so happy in his own clothes.

80
Uncut

A mouth-watering feast of beats and grooves ... as welcome as anything he's done.

75
SPIN
It's his most varied record, but it also sounds for the first time like he's tryinig to make a "Beck album."
70
Slant Magazine

Whether intentional or not, the cool and collected Guero is an album that understands, and tries to spare us, that kind of humiliation.

70
No Ripcord

It remains a very good album, but you always get that sense that he's always just one chord progression away from greatness this time around.

70
Paste

While it lacks the churn or drama of his earlier work or the dour intensity of Sea Change, it’s an album remarkable in its consistent, pleasant above-averageness, punctuated by bursts of true genius.

70
PopMatters

On one level, Guero is the quintessential Beck album, incorporating aspects of everything he's done ... Yet in tone these songs all carry with them the heaviness of Sea Change.

66
Pitchfork
Mr. Hansen has certainly attempted to follow the regimen recommended to him, and has done his best to recapture earlier moments of lucidity and unity, but in many ways the final result feels rote and calculated.
60
Mojo
While there are enough inspiring moments on here to suggest Beck hasn't yet run out of ideas, it demonstrates that the best way for him to revisit former triumphs would be to travel somewhere new.
60
Q Magazine
The production lacks the loose-fit liveliness and lightness of touch which was The Dust Brothers' trademark back in the mid-'90s.
52
Coke Machine Glow

I’m not going to fault Guero for it’s sequencing—Beck albums have never been laid out well—but it’s the pure rehashing that is inexcusable.

MasterCrackfox
86

I actually see Guero as an understated classic in the Beck catalog, and one of my personal favorites of his discography. After the stellar and stunning Sea Change Beck took a step back from writing, largely due to the fact that he lost a collection of mixtapes demos he kept in a suitcase. By the time he returned to the studio it seemed his melancholic state had started to fade, especially now married and with a son. With that new mood, Beck could go back to his experimentation.

Guero is often ... read more

reptilia0000
90

Finally, an outstanding Beck album!

So, I really want to like Beck's music. I've been trying since 2018, but, it just never fully happens. Every single one of the albums I've heard of his have one fundamentally big problem, either they're (in order of release): too weird, too hippie, too 'just ok', or too generic. Going into "Guero", I literally expected nothing, I was just hesitant about going deeper into Beck's discography because in many ways I just felt whatever was next would ... read more

JayCrackers
82

One of Beck's more overlooked albums, especially when talking about their discography as a whole and I see why as it sees the band more towards a more pop oriented soundand many would argue the weaker era of Beck but for me, I love this change of sound from the folk driven Sea Change, with strong emphasis on Trip Hop makes for some catchy, mellow and warm music with strong instrumentations and an overall interesting sound which pulls you in, Guero is an interesting and dynamic shift for ... read more

ShoegazeJake
100

First album I ever bought on iTunes.

keezoquesillo
89

Guero was my top 1 favorite album in 2020, looking back, it still has bangers, but some songs here are just dull and boring.

Best tracks: E-Pro, Hell Yes

Worst track: Broken Drum

kattenbroekcom
76

Guero sounds like a return to the sound of albums like Mellow Gold & Odelay and it's great even if it is frontloaded.

Edit (Original Score 83): This album feels a bit lackluster in emotional depth compared to the previous albums even if it's still a fun ride.

Purchasing Guero from Amazon helps support Album of the Year. Or consider a donation?
Become a Donor
Donor badge, no ads + more benefits.
Advertisement

Track List

1E-Pro
3:22
94
2Qué Onda Guero
3:29
93
3Girl
3:29
93
4Missing
4:43
88
5Black Tambourine
2:47
83
6Earthquake Weather
4:26
87
7Hell Yes
3:17
85
8Broken Drum
4:29
87
9Scarecrow
4:15
85
10Go It Alone
4:08
85
11Farewell Ride
4:18
86
12Rental Car
3:06
82
13Emergency Exit
4:01
86
Total Length: 49 minutes

Year End Lists

#7/Rolling Stone
#11/SPIN
#35/No Ripcord
Comments
Sign in to comment
No one has said anything yet.