Album Review - “Vengeance Be Mine” by London Beck

Vengeance Be Mine by London Beck is both an internal therapeutic release by the multi-talented instrumentalist and an audio-actual adventure that highlights Beck's ability to take listeners on a journey that's equal parts fun, invigorating, swaggering, and downright imaginative when need be.

For a quick summary, this album evolves the status quo of what a project can and should achieve, one where the quality of mixing and mastering, at minimum, challenges those of the marveled mainstream artists. Everything Beck accomplishes throughout this project should be a standard studied, digested, and mimicked for the next few years.

Artistically, Beck is a singer who refuses to be defined. From their subject matter to their utilization of features, which feel like year-long collaborations condensed into a five-minute world within Beck's ever-expanding universe. This is all capped with beautiful instrumentation, which at times blurs the lines between imaginative shifting like "North Galaxy" and genre-melding, such as the Dani Darling-assisted "Four Horses." This project should be digested with meticulous precision.

But let's talk about the project. Have you ever finished watching a film and caught yourself praising it to anyone within earshot? This is that project. From the opening, "Justify," featuring Dr. Rod Wallace, Beck makes it their mission to create a cohesive piece of art that is equal parts sonically beautiful, energetically fun, and emotionally dense.  

You would be hard-pressed to capture a lull moment with Vengeance Be Mine, as songs like "20/25," which comes in the back half of the album, are unexpected treats measured by layered harmonies, or "Red Dragon," a fierce ballroom-ready theme, seeing Beck transform to a confident red-light audio-muse. They capture every avenue and thrive in every step along the way.

Overall, Vengeance Be Mine should be seen as a true victory for the multi-talented extraordinaire and could make any album of the year list as 2024 comes to a close. You can listen to the project here.