On “Elevator Music,” the funky opening track on The Information, Beck asks “What’s wrong with a little grind and bumpin’?” After 12 years as one of pop music’s craziest innovators, Beck knows the answer to his own question: nothing at all.

Beck – who made a name for himself in mainstream pop culture with the singles “Devil’s Haircut” and “Loser” in the early ’90s – has always been at his best when he balances his fun side (1999’s party album Midnite Vultures) with his more serious alter ego (2002’s heartbreaking masterpiece Sea Change).

With his new album The Information, Beck has achieved a 15-song tour de force peppered with both of his distinctive musical personas. Under the guidance of producer Nigel Godrich, The Information maintains a cohesive sound throughout, unlike its predecessor Guero.

The album owes much of its distinct sound to Beck’s latest backing band, who explore all sorts of exotic percussion accompaniments. As a result, songs such as “Cellphone’s Dead” transition from hip-hop to world music in the blink of an eye.

The bouncy bass line and resonating pianos on “Think I’m in Love” channel Beck’s affinity for ’60s psychedelia. The singer voices his reservations about being in love with some of his most straightforward lyrics: “Take a little picture in a photobooth/Keep it in a locket and I think of you.”

In fact, the first half of the album is loaded with pop hooks. “Strange Apparition” aptly pays homage to Beggars Banquet-era Rolling Stones with rollicking piano licks, while “Nausea,” the album’s first single, rocks as a stripped-down acoustic number. The lyrics are typical-Beck: strange, bleak and catchy.

On “New Round,” a song that would have felt at home on the Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind soundtrack, Beck sings a dance-floor lullaby laden with banjoes, strings and bleeps and bloops. Strange – but it works.

“Soldier Jane” uses layered synthesizers and echoing vocals to create a haunted ambiance that spills over to the rest of the album. Beck wants to take us on a descent into the darker side of pop music as he did on Mutations – the ride proves to be as enjoyable as it is aesthetically pleasing.

Similar to “Soldier Jane,” “Dark Star” is foreboding and (strangely) sultry. Heavy strings go side-by-side with harmonica solos while Beck half-speaks, half-raps about “ammunition souls,” “widows’ tears” and “think-tanks empty[ing] into national dream-banks.” Without sounding preachy, Beck successfully mirrors dark times with dark songs.

The second half of the album sails on the momentum of the first half, even when Beck treads through stranger, muddled waters. Kudos to Beck for continually challenging his fans, but the man’s weirdo-reputation threatens to get the best of him.

Clocking in at 10 minutes and 36 seconds, “Horrible Fanfare/Landslide/Exoskeleton” borders on pretentious. Ultimately, it plays out as an exhaustive finale. In other words, a real buzzkill.

And it’s a shame that Beck ends on a slight misstep, because the rest of the album is breathtaking. The Information is an exciting release in every stretch of the imagination – from the adventurous music to its companion DVD (a low-budget music video for every track) and a customizable album cover with avant-garde sticker booklets.

Beck pulls out every trick in his discobox (that’s Beck-slang for discography) for this album. With every Beck-persona making an appearance on The Information, there’s a little something for every Beck fan. Melancholy never sounded so fun.

Contact reporter Zachary Herrmann at herrmanndbk@dbk.umd.edu.