Beck is having a little fun with the artwork for his new album album, “The Information,” and he wants his fans to contribute. The set, due this week via Interscope, will feature blank packaging and one of four sets of sticker sheets designed by artists from the U.S. and Europe, allowing consumers to customize the cover however they wish.
“The Information” is led by the single “Nausea,” already a top 20 hit on Billboard’s Modern Rock chart. Other highlights of the 17-song set include the funky, harmonica-laden “Dark Star” and the gently bopping “Soldier Jane,” which evinces Nigel Godrich’s signature production style.
Several other tracks move Beck far afield from the more mainstream elements of his sound, including the synth and drum machine wash of “Movie Theme,” the glitchy rap of “Horrible Fanfare” and the bizarre, structure-less spoken word piece “Exoskeleton,” which closes the album. “The Information” was produced by Nigel Godrich, who helmed 1998’s “Mutations” and 2002’s “Sea Change.”
As at recent shows, the artist will be joined onstage by puppets created by Puppetown Productions during a short fall tour, which will hit Nashville (Oct. 12, City Hall), Chicago (Oct. 14, UIC Pavilion), Toronto (Oct. 16, Ricoh Arena), New York (Oct. 18, Theatre at Madison Square Garden) and Philadelphia (Oct. 23, Tower Theatre).
