Weezer - Everything Will Be Alright in the End

Weezer
Everything Will Be Alright in the End
7 October 2014
Republic

3.5 stars out of 5

Weezer have just released their ninth LP, which is, of course, titled Weezer. Ha! I kid. No, this one has a real title: Everything Will Be Alright in the End. Produced by Ric Ocasek, who produced Weezer (1994) and Weezer (2001), it's a return to the fun and clever power pop of their debut, and move away from the darker material of 2010's Hurley. At times sounding like Sugar's Copper Blue, at other times like the Pixies' Bossanova, Rivers Cuomo & Co. seem to make a point of rubbing their influences in our faces, which isn't at all a bad thing when you have influences such as those.

Though there's no major hit like “Buddy Holly” here, you have to get really deep into the track listing before you come across a song that doesn't have the potential to be a hit single. If you've been a fan since the beginning but then drifted away after their disappointing follow-ups to Pinkerton, it's time you came back into the fold. While not profound, Everything Will Be Alright in the End is all that Weezer ever promised to be in their debut manifesto: witty, hyper-catchy, and fucking loud. “Go Away” is an infectious duet with Best Coast's Bethany Cosentino. “Ain't Got Nobody” begins like Sugar's “The Act We Act” before achieving full Weezerfication. The first two singles, “Back to the Shack” and “Cleopatra,” are good hints at the treasures that lurk here, though both of them are surpassed by a half dozen album tracks in terms of quality.

In summary, Weezer have become a band worth listening to again. While not challenging or taxing musically or lyrically, it's difficult to find anything to criticize about Everything Will Be Alright in the End. Cuomo has written some of his finest pop songs in the last couple of years, and it's our privilege to be able to listen to them here.

reviewed by Richard Krueger