The Falcon (
New Weezer Album Takes A Baby
Step Back
By Joel Hartse, The Falcon
There are two
kinds of Weezer fans: those who grew up with the band's first two albums,
"Weezer" and "Pinkerton," and those who jumped on the
bandwagon five years later with the release of 2001's "Weezer"
("The Green Album").
To this first sort of fan, the band's frontman, Rivers Cuomo, has been nothing but a source of aggravation for the last few years. Denouncing the band's 1996 masterpiece, the dark, raw "Pinkerton," Cuomo devoted his band's comeback album to saccharine, water-tight pop songs, as technically perfect as any recorded song but almost completely devoid of the emotion, spontaneity and energy that infused the band's first two releases.
While the new
generation of Weezer devotees lapped it up, old fans were left confused and
disappointed. We held our breath to see if the "Green Album" was
simply an attempt to break back into the mainstream; maybe the next album would
be the sloppy and introspective Weezer we grew up with.
"Maladriot," the band's second album within a 12-month
period, is a tiny, tiny step back toward the things that make a record like
"Pinkerton" so great: namely, raw emotion and creative musical
arrangement. "Maladriot," like
"Pinkerton," was produced by the band and not Ric
Ocasek (who produced both self-titled albums). It
might seem, then, that the "Green Album"'s
perceived faults (namely its ultra-polished pop and lack of emotion) would be
cleared up with Cuomo again at the production helm.
Actually, both the production and lyrics on "Maladroit" seem to take cues from the "Green Album." As a whole, the record is darker and more complex than its immediate predecessor, but Weezer's rock songs that once broke free with rampant distortion, dirty cymbal crashes and raw basslines are greatly subdued by cautiously "edgy" guitars and a dull pulse from the rhythm section. Songs like "Slob" and "Take Control" are as full of angst and raw power as the most impassioned moments of Pinkerton, like the desperate "Tired of Sex," but conform to slick production values and traditional, ham-fisted metal riffs rather than the loose, free arrangements the band once used.
And oh, the lyrics. A tortured artist who once anguished
over "Words and dreams and a million screams," and who whimpered
"the world has turned and left me here," is now informing us that
"cheese smells so good / on a burnt piece of lamb." This lyrical
inanity worked with the equally carefree music of the "Green Album,"
but "Maladriot" suffers greatly under the
weight of meaningless lyrics.
The record's
bouncy, fun pop songs like "Keep Fishin'"
and "Dope Nose" are not harmed by this triteness, but a song like
"Death and Destruction," which apparently portrays a depressingly
one-sided relationship, is nearly ruined by lines like "so I cry / and I'm
hurtin'." Oh, really, you're "hurtin'?" Cuomo seems unwilling to divulge anything
particularly meaningful anymore; only "Slob" and "Love
Explosion'" come close to expressing something akin to genuine -- and
interesting -- angst.
Ultimately,
it's impossible to completely denounce any Weezer album, because Cuomo is
undeniably one of the most talented songwriters in the history of pop
music.
"Maladriot" is full of insanely catchy songs that could
be successful, sing-along singles. But when compared with their past work, the
forays into cheesy metal ("Take Control" and "Fall
Together") and pop-punk ("Possibilities," which would be at home
on the "Green Album") on "Maladroit" feel
more like experiments in mediocrity than good art.
It's probably
best that the "old school" Weezer fans don't hold their collective
breath for a return to previous form, and simply appreciate Cuomo for his
brilliant melodies. As for his lyrics, perhaps the only time we get a true look
into the frontman's head is the chorus of the album's
opener, "American Gigolo," in which Cuomo almost seems to be
addressing his demanding fans: "If you hate this / I don't blame
you." Thanks for understanding, Rivers.