New releases from Beck, the Rolling Stones and Elvis Presley.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)

BECK "Sea Change" (DGC) 2-{ stars

After the disco-ironic disaster of his last album, "Midnight Vultures," Beck is in a reflective mood again. It would be wrong to call" Sea Change" mellow, given the dramatic production by Nigel Godrich (who produced Beck's `98 album "Mutations" and Radiohead's "OK Computer"), over-dramatic strings and post-9/11 apocalyptic lyrical content. Certainly, with songs about lost highways and lonesome tears, the Dylan of the slackers has gone melancholy.

Beck seems to be following the cues of singer/songwriters Elliott Smith and Ryan Adams. He lets his guitar lead the way on tracks like "It's All In Your Mind," which follows a lovely acoustic riff with plaintive pleas for love. But unlike those two beautiful bards, Beck fails to trust the vulnerabilities of his own voice, letting the studio overwhelm his melodies. And while he can sing with a deep rich tone, his limited range does become monotonous; when he takes on a Nick Drake lilt, as he does on" Round the Bend," it's a relief.

"Sea Change" gets overwhelmed with its own weightiness. It's a welcome step away from "Vultures"" postmodern nothings. But even with all its earnest intent, it somehow sounds hollow.

_Evelyn McDonnell

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ROLLING STONES "Forty Licks" (ABKCO/Virgin) 3-{ stars