It is fair to say that although it wasn’t exactly lauded to the hilt, Weezer’s last album, 2014’s Everything Will Be Alright In The End, was generally well received. Abandoning the overt flirtations with mainstream pop, and more the rough and ready nature of Hurley (released on punk rock label, Epitaph Records), Rivers Cuomo & Co. attempted to recapture the sound of their debut, The Blue Album.
That they might try to follow this up with something approaching their sophomore effort (and fan favourite), Pinkerton, was something most fans dared not dream. Hopes were raised with the release of the second single, Do You Wanna Get High? which could easily pass for an off-cut from said album.
When it was then revealed that their next release would be known as The White Album, there were all sorts of obvious connections to be made to the Beatles albums of the same moniker (both albums are officially untitled). However, having previously released blue, green and red albums, it was only a matter of time before they got around to white. There is already talk of a Black Album, which will doubtless have everyone speculating whether, after collaborating with various rappers (including Lil Wayne, Jermaine Dupri, and B.O.B.), are finally going to lay down that seminal hip-hop classic. In reality, Cuomo stated it would“feel like an urban environment, night-time and gritty and hopefully a lot more modern sounds, synthesised sounds, samples maybe.”
But sticking with The White Album, it actually could not be any more different from The Blue Album. Whilst the “original” spanned four sides of vinyl (two CDs worth), and ran for over 93 minutes, Weezer’s version clocks in at a terse 34 minutes. Furthermore, the only thing connecting the songs on the former album was the total disconnect of one song from another. It was, effectively, a total hodgepodge of sound styles and themes. The latter version, on the other hand, has a solid theme at it’s core and therefore has a spiritual, if not a sonic connection to Pinkerton.
The classic touch stone from that era here is the Beach Boys. This is doubly unsurprising given the album is largely an ode to California. Indeed, California would have been a perfectly apt title for this record, which starts with California Kids, a Beach Boys-infused piece of Blue Album-era Weezer, with classic blaring wall of sound guitars. There is also (Girl We Got A) Good Thing, another Beach Boys influenced track with plenty of jangle, supplemented by distinctly un-Beach boys metal guitars. But don’t get confused, this is not “Weezer do a Beach Boys album” nor is it a “Weezer do the Blue Album, again”. This is somewhat of a tour-de-force of all their sounds.
Wind in our Sail, with its staccato piano, is reminiscent of Perfect Situation, from 2005s Make Believe, only with more optimism. King of the World, begins by embracing a distinctly mid-90s pop punk tempo for the intro before abandoning it for a classic wall of sound Weezer guitar blast. Then, bringing the album to an end is gentle acoustic number, Endless Bummer, which with its little heaps brings back memories of Island in the Sun, from 2001’s The Green Album.
The biggest departure actually comes in the form on lead single, Thank God For Girls. As the rapid-fire delivery of lyrics force the brain to try to keep up, the words flow upon sustained notes, first of piano, then supplemented by high keyboards, leading, one extra instrument at a time, to the rollicking, cathartic chorus. No bridge, no patented classic-cum-nerd rock solos, no odd tempo changes or changes in style apropos of nothing. Just a constant build up and release, before working backwards, stripping it all back down as the lyrics describe Adam and the creation of Eve, ending on a broken-sounding Rivers (as Adam) praising “Thank God”.
With the polished but distorted lo-fi sound, and the obtuse not-quite-sung-but-not-quite-rapped vocals, and the quasi-electronic drum sound, it is difficult not to get the impression that the band has been listening to a lot of mid-90s So-Cal alt rock band, Soul Coughing, what is no bad thing at all.
Overall this album borrows a little from every Weezer period, but uses each piece to build something greater than the sum of its parts. Whilst this could easily have been a bit of a hodgepodge, the thematic link that runs through the album holds it all together and makes this one of the best Weezer albums, period. Indeed, this is their best, and most consistent album for the past 20 years. This is a serious return to form and the album Weezer fans have been waiting for since 1996 (no offence to The Green Album).
This, finally, is the Weezer album we’ve all been waiting for, and the one we all deserve. Hopefully, this will see a resurgence in their popularity and, more importantly, them keep working with producer Jake Sinclair. At a relatively young thirty years of age, he was of prime age to grow up with Weezer. Speaking to Rolling Stone, he said “When I first met Rivers I told him that I knew the Weezer playbook better than anybody. I also said, ‘I know what the kids like, so there may be a way to have a win for everybody.'”
Clearly, he found a way. Of all of River’s collaborations (of which, again, there are several here), this may prove to be the most fruitful.
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