Fourteen years after their eponymous debut Weezer have delivered this, the latest self titled album to be known more commonly by the colour of its sleeve. I'm not sure if there's any masterplan at work here, releasing albums with no recognized title or if you could derive any meaning from the timings (every seven years), or the fact that they've all been based on primary colours (blue, green and now red), it could all be total coincidence. Or not, who knows?
With the "Red"
album Weezer have taken the best elements of all of their
previous work and delivered their most rounded and mature
album to date. There's the funk metal styling of "Everybody
Get Dangerous", there's an introspective look at Rivers
Cuomo's musical inspirations on "Heart Songs" all
interspersed with the quartets trademark upbeat power pop ("Dreamin'"
and "Troublemaker" for example) Cuomo also embraces his love
of hip-hop and choral singing with some of his vocals, and
for the first time ever on a Weezer record all four members
pitch in with the writing and vocal duties as well.
The best
example of this maturity and eclecticism is the multi-faceted
"The Greatest Man That Ever Lived" which, with its
multiple parts, effectively distils Weezer's entire career
into six6 gloriously bonkers minutes. This one song will prove to
be a modern rock classic and is Weezer's most ambitious work
to date by some margin, you really have to hear this song to
appreciate its unique qualities, I defy you to keep a
straight face through its twists and turns.
The UK Bonus tracks are a pair of covers, namely The Band's
“The Weight” and Talk Talk's “Life's What You Make It”. Whilst
these choices help to demonstrate the diverse range of
influences that go into the Weezer melting pot the country
rock styling of the former are executed far more
successfully than the lumpen electronic rock run through of
the latter. Meaning that you finish your listening
experience on a somewhat deflated note, but this is the only
blemish on what may yet prove to be the best Weezer album so
far.
John Lewins
