Weezer - Everything Will Be Alright In The End (Album Review)
Wednesday, 08 October 2014
Written by Huw Baines
When viewed in black and white, the emotional turmoil caused by a few pop-rock songs is quite laughable. But, tell that to a Weezer fan who goes back to ‘Blue’ and ‘Pinkerton’ as touchstones for taste and personal experience, not to mention as examples of songwriting alchemy.
‘Everything Will Be Alright In The End’ is the band’s ninth album and one, even more so than its immediate predecessors, that their fanbase has attached a great deal of importance to. This is the one to redress the balance, to reassert Rivers Cuomo as the master of three minute fuzz-pop. We’ve heard it all before, but this time the proof is in the pudding.
It’s a shame that Back To The Shack, one of very few missteps, was the song to lead the vanguard. Chunky of riff and offering a repetitive hook, it’s ‘Maladroit’-lite but offers an insight into Cuomo’s thought process. Displaying self-awareness amid a few references for the band’s followers - strats with lightning straps, rockin’ out like it’s ‘94 - it is a mission statement if nothing else.
Elsewhere, there are some real finds. With some of the studio gleam removed and not a dodgy party beat in sight, ‘Everything Will Be Alright In The End’ feels lived in, its many melodies unmistakably cut from the same cloth as much of the ‘Blue’ to ‘Green’ era.
Lyrically, Cuomo has let his guard down a little to discuss his own wounds, his ties to rock music and his father’s disappearing act, while utilising his meta urges to far greater success than on recent albums. He often weighs in on his own work, along with the nature of criticism and fan reaction, making this something of a dialogue.
The vitriol that has been directed at previous efforts is, their questionable merits aside, largely to do with the strength of the bond people have with Weezer’s best work. But, that doesn’t take into account the band’s relationship to each note they’ve laid down. Cuomo’s words here clearly relate that this album is a statement of where they are right now, just as ‘Hurley’, ‘Raditude’ et al were.
For those who have been nursing a feeling of betrayal for going on a decade, this is great news. The fire apparent in Cuomo is palpable, his words backed up by some brilliant songs - take your pick from I’ve Had It Up To Here, Lonely Girl, The British Are Coming or Eulogy For A Rock Band.
Weezer will never be that band you grew up with again. They’re older now and have been through the mill, just like you have. Every step away from ‘Pinkerton’ has been one further from what so many have wanted to hear, but it’s never been down to us. ‘Everything Will Be Alright In The End’ is proof that Weezer do what Weezer want to do. That makes its success all the more enjoyable.
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