LONDON ¨C ¡°It¡¯s actually surreal that it¡¯s finally out,¡± Beck Hansen says of his 13th album, ¡°Colors.¡± ¡°It¡¯s the longest time from inception to release I¡¯ve ever had. It¡¯s been like a rebirth.¡±

Beck knows a thing or two about renewals. As alternative rock¡¯s shape-shifting outlier, the 47-year-old has constantly sidestepped expectation. From his early and accidental Gen X-defining slacker anthem ¡°Loser¡± (1994) to his sun-kissed melancholic Grammy Award-winning album ¡°Morning Phase¡± (2014), Beck has worn many masks: ironic musical magpie (¡°Odelay,¡± 1996), libidinous funkateer (¡°Midnite Vultures,¡± 1999), desolate balladeer (¡°Sea Change,¡± 2002). He¡¯s written for film, collaborated with pop royalty (Lady Gaga, P!NK) and sang onstage with Taylor Swift. David Bowie was an admirer, although even pop¡¯s ultimate chameleon never released an album of sheet music, like Beck¡¯s 2012 book ¡°Song Reader,¡± and encouraged fans to make their own versions of unrecorded tracks.

Beck speaks to me from Los Angeles. In conversation he has a surprisingly deep drawl and is measured, occasionally laconic. ¡°Colors¡± is the precise opposite. Representing Beck¡¯s first unabashed foray into sleek, shiny, exuberant pop music, it is yet another left-field transition.