Beck has a new album coming out, but there’s a pretty good chance you’ll never get to hear it. That’s because, as you might have heard, he’s releasing Song Reader solely as sheet music, via that great clearinghouse of retro and twee projects, McSweeney’s. But don’t worry: he’s still managed to spend some time in the studio this year. Stereogum points us to three new songs — “Cities,” “Spiral Staircase,” and “Touch the People” — the musical iconoclast has contributed to the Playstation 3 game Sound Shapes, which came out last week.
The tracks are fairly diverse, taking full advantage of Beck’s talent for genre-hopping. “Cities” is searching, slow-building, and percussive, with undertones of African pop, whereas “Spiral Staircase” is a wispy, dreamy ballad. Full of beeps, thumps, and robotic vocals, “Touch the People” would be just as appropriate soundtracking Dance Dance Revolution. Click through to see all three songs in the context of the game — which, incidentally, is adorably animated and looks like a whole lot of fun.
Beck — “Cities”
Beck — “Spiral Staircase”
Beck — “Touch the People”