IN REVIEW: Weezer - "Pacific Daydream"

It's time to call a spade a spade; Weezer has been in a borderline abusive relationship with the majority of its fan base for the better part of the last twenty years. Every time they underwhelm with a failed attempt at Top 40 domination and we say "enough is enough", they come crawling back with more crunchy power pop nostalgia and eventually win us back, only to go chasing that elusive mainstream success again.

So, in a way, we should have known Pacific Daydream was going to find Rivers Cuomo in full hit-chasing mode again. Even still, it's kind of jarring just how blatant the attempt is time around. You'd have thought Weezer would have learned their lesson when Raditude fell flat on its face nearly a decade ago (and there were seemingly lessons learned judging from the three following records), and yet here we are again being presented with tune after tune of polished, shiny pop with mainstream aspirations.

Mexican Fender, with its power chords and colourful chorus, turns out to be a red herring, a promise of rock that is quickly and frequently abandoned throughout. Feels Like Summer, the head-scratching sugar rush that dropped six months ago, is sadly more indicative of the album as a whole; while that's no doubt fine for those who get their music fix listening to popular radio stations or the Top Hits playlist on Spotify (which, it should come as no real surprise, Cuomo admitted to studying while working on this album), for us seasoned professionals of Weezer disappointment it's just another slap in our already reddened faces.

What's all the more disappointing about Weezer's latest stunt is that they proved just a year and a half ago that they could incorporate pop elements into their sound and make it work; the "white album" was of a similar mindset thematically, but the music at least made sense and the execution exceeded expectations. Here, those moments are few and far between, replaced with hollow shells of Train and Imagine Dragons songs that are tailor made to break into a market that has refused them entry at every turn. It equates to a group of middle aged guys throwing on some outfits they picked out at whatever store at the mall seemed hippest to them, then trying to fit in at a high school party.

While there isn't anything quite as egregious as, say, Can't Stop Partying (the ill-conceived Lil' Wayne collab that's my go-to when illustrating Weezer's history of pop disasters and Exhibit A when arguing Raditude as the band's worst album), and some songs are undeniably catchy, there also isn't much of anything that sounds like Weezer as we know them no matter what era you best know them for. A lot of rock bands folded pop sensibilities into their sound this year (see: QOTSA, Foo Fighters, Portugal. The Man, Linkin Park, etc.), but no rock band in 2017 has crafted an album as brazen, formulaic and contrary to their fans' interests as Weezer. Enough is enough.

October 27, 2017 • Crush/Atlantic
Highlights Mexican Fender • Weekend Woman • QB Blitz