It looks like you can teach an old dog new tricks. Look at Radiohead, Coldplay and Nine Inch Nails, who’ve come up with creative ways of enticing fans by giving away parts (or even all) of their albums. And now it looks like platinum seller Beck, who’s tapped Brian “Danger Mouse” Burton to produce his still untitled 10-song album (his first release since the single “Timebomb.”), might have something up his sleeve. While Beck’s peeps report “the album's ten tracks vacillate between economy and experimentation, hybrid and pop classicism, while consistently manifesting Beck and Danger Mouse's shared interest in psych-rock, folk, electronic minimalism and orchestration,” the kicker is that Beck’s label, Interscope, has offered a vague release date of “this summer.” Could Beck be planning a stealth release? Maybe.

In the meantime, Mr. Hansen is readying to play his biggest hometown headline show on September 20 at the Hollywood Bowl (tickets go on-sale on May 10) and is prepping for a headlining U.S. tour. Like the release date of his forthcoming album, those tour dates remain a mystery as well.