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Jul 08, 2019 By Christopher Roberts Beck

Beck is releasing a new album, Hyperspace, at some point via Capitol Records. Back in April he shared the album’s first single, “Saw Lightning.” Now he has shared a grainy black & white video of him performing the song with simply a harmonica and his voice. The new version is labeled “Saw Lightning (Freestyle)” and the video can be watched below. Actor Giovanni Ribisi directed the video, which was edited by Nick Roney.

Beck co-wrote “Saw Lightning” with Pharrell Williams, who also “contributes drums, keyboards, and mumbles” to the studio version of the song. No further details about the album, such as the tracklist or cover art, have been shared. A previous press release said Hyperspace will be released “at an as yet undetermined point in the space time continuum” via Capitol Records.

Last week Beck guested on a cover of Van Halen’s 1984 hit “Hot For Teacher” by The Bird and the Bee (aka Inara George and Greg Kurstin), from their new covers album, Interpreting the Masters Volume 2: A Tribute to Van Halen, that features covers of 10 songs (11 if you get the vinyl version) of the 1980s rock band and is due out August 2 via No Expectations/Release Me.

In March Beck teamed up with Cage The Elephant for the new song “Night Running,” a single from Cage The Elephant’s new album, Social Cues, which is their fifth and came out in April via RCA. “Night Running” was one of our Songs of the Week. There was also a video for the song. Also, as previously announced, Beck and Cage The Elephant are going on a co-headlining tour this summer, dubbed “The Night Running Tour.”

The tour will feature support from Spoon. Other support acts include Sunflower Bean, Wild Belle, and Starcrawler. They have partnered up with PLUS1, in which “$1 from every ticket sold will be donated back into each city they are playing in, supporting local food security initiatives as they work towards ending hunger in their communities.”

Beck’s last album, Colors, came out in October 2017 via Capitol. In February he shared a new song, “Super Cool,” that featured Robyn and The Lonely Island, and was written for the new animated film The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part and plays during the end credits of the film. “Super Cool” was one of our Songs of the Week. In January Beck also shared another new track, “Tarantula,” which is a cover of a 1983 song by Colourbox and is on Music Inspired By the Film Roma, which features songs inspired by the Alfonso Cuarón-directed black & white Spanish language film Roma. Beck performed the song on The Late Late Show with James Corden, where he was joined by a backing choir that featured Feist, Alex Lilly, Bat For Lashes (aka Natasha Khan), and The Bird and the Bee’s Inara George. He was also accompanied by the LA Philharmonic, conducted by Philharmonic music director Gustavo Dudamel.

Beck & Cage The Elephant The Night Running Tour 2019 Dates:

07/11/19 - Ridgefield, WA - Sunlight Supply Amphitheater *^
07/13/19 - George, WA - The Gorge Amphitheatre *^
07/16/19 - Mountain View, CA - Shoreline Amphitheater *^
07/17/19 - Irvine, CA - Five Point Amphitheater *^
07/19/19 - Las Vegas, NV - Park Theater *^
07/20/19 - Chula Vista, CA - North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre *^
07/21/19 - Phoenix, AZ - Ak-Chin Pavilion *^
07/23/19 - Denver, CO - Fiddler’s Green Amphitheater *^
07/26/19 - Austin, TX - Austin 360 Amphitheater *+
07/27/19 - Dallas, TX - The Dos Equis Pavilion *+
07/28/19 - Houston, TX - Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion *+
07/30/19 - St. Louis, MO - Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre *+
07/31/19 - Chicago, IL - Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island *+
08/02/19 - Cincinnati, OH Riverbend Music Center *+
08/03/19 - Detroit, MI - DTE Energy Music Theater *+
08/04/19 - Indianapolis, IN - Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center *+
08/11/19 - Toronto, ON - Budweiser Stage *&
08/12/19 - Saratoga Springs, NY - Saratoga Performing Arts Center *&
08/13/19 - Darien Center, NY - Darien Lake Amphitheater *&
08/15/19 - Mansfield, MA - Xfinity Center *&
08/16/19 - Gilford, NH - Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion *&
08/17/19 - New York City, NY - Forest Hills Stadium *
08/20/19 - Holmdel, NJ - PNC Bank Arts Center *&
08/21/19 - Camden, NJ - BB&T Pavilion *&
08/22/19 - Columbia, MD - Merriweather Post Pavilion *&
08/24/19 - Raleigh, NC - Coastal Credit Union Music Park *&
08/25/19 - Charlotte, NC - PNC Music Pavilion *&
08/27/19 - Birmingham, AL - Oak Mountain Amphitheatre *&
08/29/19 - Tampa, FL - MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre *&
08/30/19 - West Palm Beach, FL - Coral Sky Amphitheatre *&

* - w/ Spoon
^ - w/ Starcrawler
+ - w/ Wild Belle
& - Sunflower Bean

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