After one full listen-through, I can say that this is certainly the strongest record that Weezer has done since the Green Album.
The first single, "Back to the Shack"
is a simple rocker that functions as an
outright apology for the bland pop
experiments of the last few Weezer
records, and they do seem sincere about
getting back to the sound that we all know
and love from the 90s.
Ric Ocasek is back behind the boards,
and the big crunchy sound with the 70s
stadium rock leanings is firmly in place.
The songs all have that unmistakable Weezer
catchiness and Cuomo's way with a melody,
and there's a nice balance between the more
serious relationship-type songs and the
breezier songs. Overall it's fun, it's
rocking, and there are some enjoyably weird
arrangement choices throughout to hold your
attention.
The only thing that I think keeps it
from being a truly great album like the Blue
Album or Pinkerton is that those songs feel
like they were written in more of a vacuum,
or at least for a small devoted audience.
Twenty years of big-time fame later, these
new songs have a tendency to feel like Cuomo
wrote them knowing that everyone was
watching, and while he's giving the people
what they want again, the songs have a film
of self-awareness to them. Considering how
much better the whole thing feels than their
previous few records though, that's a pretty
small complaint, and perhaps with more
listens the songs will feel more lived-in
and the album will settle into a spot beside
their best work where that self-awareness
won't be too noticeable.
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