You may have noticed a slight obsession forming around a certain Mr Beck Hansen. It is true, I would probably proclaim him burping the alphabet as the greatest thing ever recorded, but there we are. I received the following email today, telling me all kinds of wondrous things, please avert your eyes downwards:

BECK PREMIERES NEW TRACK ON ZANE LOWE'S BBC RADIO 1 SHOW
'CHEMTRAILS' NOW STREAMING AT BECK.COM AND BECK'S OFFICIAL MYSPACE PAGE

The world got a first taste of Beck's as yet untitled new album today, as Zane Lowe's BBC Radio 1 show premiered the song 'Chemtrails' and declared it today's "hottest record in the world." The song is now streaming at Beck.com (http://www.beck.com/) and Beck's MySpace page (http://www.myspace.com/beck).

While not a single, "Chemtrails" is a genre-bending tour de force that showcases Beck and producer Danger Mouse's shared affection for late '60s psych-pop as Beck takes his songwriting and performing skills in yet another bold, unforeseen and as always captivating new direction.

The album is slated for an early summer release. More info will be available soon, including the record's title, release date and upcoming singles


Ignore the bit about Zane Lowe and instead head straight to Beck's website or myspace page to hear 'Chemtrails', which as you can see is definitely NOT the new single. Having heard it it's obvious why, not that it isn't great, but it's too fiddly, there are too many stops and starts and no chorus, except Beck repeating the slightly stoned, "there are too many people". Still, Danger Mouse's Midas touch is evident and it all makes me very excited for the forthcoming album...roll on the summer!