Howie Beck - Howie Beck

Mon 27th Feb, 2006 in Music Reviews

There are certain songs on Howie Beck’s self-titled release, his first in five years, which would be right at home on the Garden State soundtrack. It could just be me, but I find that there are some songs which just feel like soundtrack songs. Like Andrew Largeman in Garden State, songs to ride a quad bike to and songs for screaming at the edge on an abyss. More recently, like Drew Baylor in Elizabethtown there are songs to drive across the country and grieve to.

When I listened to Howie Beck while just staring at the iTunes window in front of me, it didn’t make much of an impact at all.  But when I listened to it as I went about my daily business, I noticed more in this bunch of songs.

After all, isn’t that what music should do?  Serve as a soundtrack to our lives?

If we were being obnoxious, Howie Beck would fall under the ‘sensitive singer/songwriter’ label, with his soft, sweet voice, acoustic guitar and introspective lyrics.

Howie Beck’s self-titled album is his first recording in five years.  Beck isolated himself during this time in his home of Toronto, Canada. In the space of a short while, he  had found his travel plans affected by the September 11 terrorist attacks whilst on tour in the U.K, and soon after, one of the directors of his old record label, Easy!Tiger, committed suicide.  He says of this time,

There I am, singing these songs about my little life…
and the world is just collapsing around me.

Howie Beck starts off slow. The songs are catchy enough, with Beck sounding reminiscent of John Mayer in Sometimes, but none of these few songs goes much further than being easy on the ear.  Nevertheless, from the track Don’t Be Afraid (where he is joined by British singer-songwriter Ed Harcourt) onwards, it shines with a poppier Elliott Smith style beauty.

The Books Beside Her Bed is a gorgeous song that at just over two minutes long, has Beck taking on some of that Elliott Smith beauty.  He sings at a whisper,
 
The books beside her bed,
I know she hasn’t even read.
She likes to watch TV,
but I know it’s messing with her head.

Later, he shares,

She hasn’t cried in years,
‘cause it’s not worth all the pain.
As she closed her eyes, I watched a tear roll by.

How Do You Feel echoes Beck’s isolation and sadness in the past five years – ‘Running away from yourself, you got lost where no one could find you.’ We Waited is a sunny, up-tempo standout with soothing, layered vocals. Everybody Sold Out is a cheeky love song, complete with harmonica. Beck tells his muse ‘I guess it’s just you and me now’, concluding, ‘Please don’t sell out, like everybody else does.’

Beck’s slower songs have a beautiful lullaby quality to them; however they are mostly melancholic, on the topic of emptiness, sadness and broken hearts. Please possesses the same heartbreaking quality of a lot of his songs.  ‘Please, it’s not your fault.  Everything just went wrong inside your heart.’ Broken Social Scene’s Leslie Feist features singing alongside Beck on I Need Light. Nada Surf’s Matthew Caws also appears on the album.

So finally, what are some scenes in the film of your life where Howie Beck could be the soundtrack? Maybe you could sit pondering, nursing a cup of tea or coffee or any beverage of your choice. Maybe you’re breaking up with someone or lazing in bed on a Sunday morning. You could even be staring into the infinite abyss. These are just some ideas, you’re not limited. You choose your soundtrack.