Weezer, a Los Angeles quartet led by singer Rivers Cuomo, quickly rose above the throng of pop-punk bands with their debut Weezer (Geffen, 1994), otherwise known as the Blue Album. But the power ballad My Name Is Jonas,
the Merseybeat of Undone The Sweater Song and Buddy Holly
(the latter featuring a brief but memorable solo by Cuomo),
the vapid chorus of Surf Wax America,
and the folk ballad In The Garage have all the substance of reeds in the wind. On the album's better moments one can hear an eager group of Pixies disciples
(Say It Ain't So).
Return Of The Rentals (Maverick, 1995) is a project by two members of Weezer (drummer Pat Wilson and bassist Matt Sharp), who produce similarly melodic songs
(Friends Of P. and My Summer Girl) using distortion, synthesizer and violin.
Difficulties mar the short Pinkerton (Geffen, 1996),
which contains only half an hour of music, and only two songs with choruses worthy of the first record: Across The Sea and El Scorcho.
The less commercial sound of this album has the power, if not the violence, of the punk rock from which the group claims to originate, along with the intensity of the more passionate "emocore". However, it indulges in dark and caustic moods that are perhaps beyond the reach of the group's musical abilities.
(Original text by Piero Scaruffi)
While Weezer were on hiatus, bassist
Matt Sharp's Rentals achieved pop grandeur on
Seven More Minutes (Maverick, 1999), an album sprinkled with juvenile
optimism and a paean to romance.
Drummer Pat Wilson formed the Special Goodness and guitarist Brian Bell formed
the Space Twins.
Weezer returned with Weezer (Geffen, 2001), that contains the hits
Hash Pipe and especially the hit Island In The Sun (vaguely reminiscent of
Maurice Williams' Stay).
Maladroit (Geffen, 2002) is
not a particularly invigorating or original album, despite a couple of
catchy power-pop numbers (Keep Fishin, Dope Nose).
Make Believe (Geffen, 2005) is sort of invisible music: it contains
songs that vanish rapidly in the subconscious of the listener without
leaving any trace. The anthemic and sarcastic Beverly Hills was the hit
that climbed the charts, but Perfect Situation might be the real standout.
This Is Such A Pity is a diligent imitation of the Cars.
More filler surfaced on Red (2008), drowning the effervescent
Pork and Beans and the ambitious rap-rock of
The Greatest Man That Ever Lived.
Their assembly line of pop hooks produced Troublemaker.
Raditude (2009) was just about only pop filler.
Rivers Cuomo sang on B.o.B's hit single Magic (2010)
The group then released Hurley (2010), that marked a return to their
emo roots (Brave New World).
Everything Will Be Alright In The End (2014), with the
stomping Aint Got Nobody, Foolish Father and The British Are Coming,
and especially the California concept
Weezer (White Album) (2016), basically a tribute to the Beach Boys,
with the ebullient refrains of L.A. Girlz, Endless Bummer,
King Of The World and Do You Wanna Get High (better than the single
Thank God for Girls and than opener California Kids),
were decent returns to form,
but
Pacific Daydream (Crush, 2017)
was mediocre at best, with only Weekend Woman to remember.
Weezer (Teal Album) (2019), produced by Mark Rankin, is a collection of covers.
Moving the guitars to the background,
Weezer (Black Album) (2019), produced by Dave Sitek, indulged in glossy electronic dance-pop productions and
dejavu melodies, from the funky and semi-rap Can't Knock the Hustle to
the soaring chamber pop refrain of High as a Kite via harmless ditties
like Living in L.A., Byzantine and Too Many Thoughts In My Head.
Having run out of songs to plagiarize in guitar-based rock, Weezer wisely
decided to launch a whole new career.
OK Human (Atlantic, 2021),
produced by Jake Sinclair with an avalanche of strings,
is a work of baroque pop that
harkens back to the Brit-pop of
Blur and
Oasis.
Some of the songs sound like deliberate collages.
All My Favorite Songs merges mellotron flutes a` la Strawberry Fields Forever and languid strings a` la Verve's
Bittersweet Symphony.
Aloo Gobi is the most elaborate confection, a guitar-less neoclassical and bubblegum-pop pastiche with nods to the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds and to
the Beatles' Penny Lane.
Playing My Piano sounds like a tribute to
Queen and
Elton John.
Everything Happens for a Reason echoes Go Where You Wanna Go by The Mamas and the Papas as well as Tommy Roe's Sweet Pie with pulsating orchestral horns.
La Brea Tar Pits is what Paul McCartney would do to the Rolling Stones' Like a Rainbow if fronting the Electric Light Orchestra.
More traces of the Beatles show up in Grapes of Wrath and more
Elton John pathos permeates Bird with a Broken Wing.
Nothing on this album is profound. This is the ultimate superficial pop exercise, and thankfully brief (30 minutes). And to some extent it is also their most
"childish" collection, with ditties suitable for kindergartens like
the operatic singalong Mirror Image and the
folk-rock nursery rhyme Here Comes the Rain.
This also feels like a Rivers Cuomo solo album focusing on his
chamber-pop aesthetic.
If that album had almost no guitar,
Van Weezer (2021), produced by Suzy Shinn, is a weird
nostalgic
tribute to the early years of heavy metal, replete with
arena bombast (but, alas, not with adequate guitar riffs).
They ape Metallica and Van Halen (and plain plagiarize Ozzy Osbourne)
but they still dish out catchy refrains with amazing ease (Hero,
Sheila Can Do It, The End of the Game).
