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Hear Beck’s Gleaming, Synth-Spangled Road Anthem ‘I Won’t Be Long’

Beck, "I Won't Be Long

Beck has been nothing but unpredictable lately, and so far it’s working for him. Now the shape-shifting Los Angeles artist has unveiled the dreamy yet precisely sculpted “I Won’t Be Long,” which follows up the Panda Bear-dazzled psych-pop of last month’s “Defriended.”

The laconically drawled verse lyrics about “the country station” and “broken air-condition” effectively summon up the open road: “No one has a clue where we are,” Beck declares, but the airy chorus, which wouldn’t sound out of place on a recent M83 or Washed Out album, insists differently. The extended instrumental breakdowns are pointedly meandering.

“I Won’t Be Long” will be available on 12-inch vinyl backed with a 15-minute extended mix; order it here. You can also still order “Defriended,” which likewise comes with a lengthy “extended mix” on the flip side. According to Rolling Stone, a source close to Beck has confirmed he’s leaving Universam Music to release not one, but two new albums. One is the previously announced Beck acoustic record. The other would be the official studio follow-up to 2008’s Danger Mouse-assisted Modern Guilt.

Beck is scheduled to perform in London on July 4 with Jarvis Cocker, Franz Ferdinand, and more. He has a gig tonight in Paris as part of Festival Days Off and has recently been playing his Song Reader sheet music set live. He performed a few new songs in a Santa Cruz, California, show that was caught on tape earlier this year. Here’s to more surprises.