Weezer Doesn’t Belong in the Rock World

On "Back to the Shack," the lead single from Weezer's new album Everything Will Be Alright in the End, frontman Rivers Cuomo apologizes for the band's slick, glossy excursions in recent years. "We belong in the rock world," he howls over a stormy sea of heavy riffs and thundering drums.

It's a nice sentiment -- the band's fans certainly deserve an apology after so many lacklustre albums -- but Cuomo's got it all wrong. Weezer have never belonged in the rock world. Rather, they're a pop band through and through -- albeit one with a soft spot for Nirvana.

And yet, on Everything Will Be Alright in the End, Cuomo tries his best to add some muscle to the group's sound: most of the guitars are loud and impossibly crunchy, and many tracks have twiddly solos that inevitably lead into the final chorus. This is the hardest that Weezer have rocked since 2002's Maladroit, something that's particularly apparent on the charging opener "Ain't Got Nobody" and the closing three-part prog odyssey "The Futurescope Trilogy."

For Weezer, this noisy style isn't too radical a change from what it usually does -- there are still lots of summery power-pop numbers, particularly in the middle section of the LP -- but it's indicative of band struggling to find its footing after a long create slump. As a songwriter, Cuomo is crippled by self-awareness, and Everything Will Be Alright includes a handful of tracks that either explicitly or subtly refer to Weezer's predicament as a band on the decline.

"I've Had It Up to Here" is a particularly egregious offender, as Cuomo attempts to reject the mainstream and assert his artistic autonomy. "If you think I need approval from the faceless throng / Whoa-oh, that's where you're wrong," he sings, attempting to convince either us or himself. (Remember, this is a guy who once denounced the band's 1996 album Pinkerton when it received poor reviews, then changed his mind completely once the record was widely embraced as a classic. He's always needed the approval of the throng.)

And then theres "Eulogy for a Rock Band," which isn't overtly about Weezer, although it's hard not to read between the lines when Cuomo bids farewell to a once-great band and sings, "We will sing the melodies that you did long ago."

Ultimately, these songs are about Cuomo letting himself off the hook: he will never be able to recapture the glory of his '90s heyday, so he might as well write songs that please himself and the fans who have stuck around. And maybe this isn't such a bad thing -- despite its shortcomings, Everything Will Be Alright is being heralded by many as the band's best album in years, and "The British Are Coming" in particular is one the stronger songs in Weezer's post-millennial output.

Put it this way: Everything Will Be Alright in the End isn't an eye-rolling embarrassment. For a band that has released "Beverly Hills," "Where's My Sex?" and Raditude, it could be a lot worse.