Beck released Ride Lonesome through Capitol Records on September 18, alongside a video for Run Away. Beck produced the album and Nigel Godrich mixed it, renewing a collaboration connected with earlier recordings including Sea Change and Mutations.
The sessions brought together Smokey Hormel, Joey Waronker, Justin Meldal-Johnsen, Roger Joseph Manning Jr. and Jason Falkner at United Studios in Hollywood. These musicians have appeared in different parts of Beck’s recording history; the personnel provide a concrete connection to those earlier albums without making the new record a reissue or a sequel by definition.
The Run Away video was directed by Mikai Karl, produced by Ryan Smale and stars actor Tadanobu Asano. The announcement describes intersecting narratives against a Tokyo city setting.
Two ways into the release
The video is one entry point, while the album credits offer another. Watching the film and then returning to the song without its images can reveal how much the visual narrative affects a listener’s reading of a recording. That is a useful comparison rather than a verdict on the album’s quality.
A North American tour was scheduled to begin September 22 at the Santa Barbara Bowl and conclude November 10 in Portland. Readers using the archived announcement for live plans can check the artist and venue listings for current availability and schedule information.
Source: Official release announcement.
