Morning Phase
| Morning Phase | ||||||||||
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| Studio album by Beck | ||||||||||
| Released | February 21, 2014 | |||||||||
| Recorded | 2012–13 | |||||||||
| Genre | Folk rock | |||||||||
| Length | 47:08 | |||||||||
| Label |
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| Producer | Beck | |||||||||
| Beck chronology | ||||||||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Aggregate scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 81/100 |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    |
| The A.V. Club | B+ |
| The Daily Telegraph | |
| Entertainment Weekly | A− |
| The Guardian | |
| The Independent | |
| NME | 8/10 |
| Pitchfork Media | 6.8/10 |
| Rolling Stone | |
| Spin | 8/10 |
Morning Phase is the ninth official studio album and twelfth overall by American singer Beck. The album was released in February 2014 by his new label, Capitol Records. According to a press release, Morning Phase is a "companion piece" to Beck's 2002 album Sea Change. Several of the musicians who recorded parts for Sea Change returned to record for Morning Phase.
Upon release the album received critical acclaim and was nominated for five awards at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards, winning three: Album of the Year, Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical and Best Rock Album. Along with winning the award, Chris Martin collaborated with Beck to sing "Heart Is a Drum" at the Grammys.
The roots of the album are similar to Sea Change, as well as 1993's Golden Feelings and 1994's One Foot in the Grave. Most of the critics noted the change in sound from several previous recordings, and the genre being the same as Sea Change.
Beck's previous album, Modern Guilt, was released in 2008, and was the final album released under his Interscope Records contract. In the interim between album releases, Beck worked on a wide variety of projects, including new studio material, most of which went unreleased for several years. In October 2012, bassist and frequent collaborator Justin Meldal-Johnsen commented: "I would estimate that there are currently about three or four albums’ worth of material floating around," and Beck himself said that "I wasn't sure if I was going to put out a record – or if I should put out a record. It felt like I was standing still, while everything else was in such flux."
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