It was a long time ago, but I can still remember coming home to Florida for Christmas break after a dispiriting first semester in law school and being shocked by the intensity of the light. It felt like stepping from a black-and-white movie to technicolor. My depression broke, and things were easier from that point forward.
It’s appropriate that Beck called his new CD “Colors.” If “Morning Phase” was a grand, sweeping description of depression, “Colors” is a bright cherry popsicle. Its influences come from here, there, and everywhere, but the overall effect is as euphoric as a Beach Boys record.
“Colors” was conceived prior to Trump’s election, and had nothing to do with him. It won’t pick up the hurricane debris in your yard or keep us from being blown up. But for 40 minutes, it can make you forget your troubles and leave you glad to be alive, and that is no mean feat today.