You never know what to expect from Beck. His shows in the past have varied from zany, high-tech, theatrical presentations to the gloomiest of solo acoustic recitals. In England at the start of a brief tour to introduce his new album, Modern Guilt, he came about as close to a default setting as he has got. Accompanied by a three-man, one-woman backing band, he opened with an old favourite, Devil’s Haircut.

Beck had clearly not had any kind of haircut for a year or so, and his locks cascaded in a long, lank sweep to his shoulders. His eyes were encased in a pair of ridiculous, red-framed shades and he was wearing a plaid shirt. The sound, like the look, harked back to the classic, slacker-era Beck, as a tinny blast of harmonica imposed itself on the clumping, junkyard-blues beat.

“I’m a seasick sailor on a ship of noise/ I got my maps all backwards and my instincts poisoned,” Beck sang in a half-spoken, deadpan drawl, as the band moved quickly along to the pummelling, Lust-for-Life syncopation of Nausea, followed by an equally swift canter through The New Pollution and Girl. The momentum was tremendous, and the choice of an opening sequence of songs just about perfect.

But there was a curiously functional air to the performance itself. Beck’s commercial fortunes have taken a downturn in this country in recent years and this gig was clearly undersold. The singer from California, who will be 38 next week, behaved as if he could not have cared less, and maybe that is part of the problem. With no attempt on his part to engage the audience, it was very much left to the music to do the talking.

A string of songs from the new album, released next Monday, received a predictably muted reception. The album is a beguiling marriage of 1960s-style, psychedelic pop and modern touches of electronica. On stage, the keyboard player, performing an Eno-like role at the back, added bleeps and squeaks to the moody Youthless and a doomy intro to Chemtrails, while a guitarist and bass player added impressive harmony vocals to several other songs, especially the deliciously retro Modern Guilt and Orphans.

Beck’s first big hit, Loser, was slipped in somewhere along the line and still sounded fantastic, with its against-the-grain mix of hip-hop vocals and crusty slide guitar. Personally, I can’t wait for Beck to reach his blues phase. But this back-to-the-future show will do fine in the meantime.

Beck plays Hyde Park, London, tomorrow

Click here to find tickets for Beck

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