1 hr 40 min
Mandatory Music and CD: Everything Will be Alright in the End by Weezer Comics In Motion
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- Arts
Everything Will Be Alright in
the End Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Two songs into Everything
Will Be Alright in the End, Rivers Cuomo sings "we belong in the rock
world," a repudiation of the big beat experimentation of Raditude, a 2009
record that found Weezer working with such pop producers as Dr. Luke and Butch
Walker. Weezer fans eager for Pinkerton, Pt. 2 are often quick to bristle at
Cuomo's experimentations, so when the guitarist sings that they're
"rockin' out like it's '94," he's not only not lying -- they went so
far as to once again hire Ric Ocasek, the producer of the group's debut, to
helm this ninth studio album -- but he's reassuring his audience that he's left
all those pounding dance beats behind. The weird thing is, Weezer already shook
off the ghost of Raditude via 2010's quickly released indie Hurley, so the
emphasis on the group returning to rock feels a little odd, but Everything Will
Be Alright in the End does trump its immediate predecessor by being bigger,
bolder, slicker, and stickier than Hurley. Some of this is indeed due to the
presence of Ocasek. His exacting production, anchored as much in pummeling
arena rock as new wave pop, polishes and preserves Cuomo's quirks, but it's
also true that Rivers has decided to indulge in his eccentricities once again.
Take away the woolly mammoth-sized guitars and "Back to the Shack,"
with its overt references to "In the Garage," and Everything Will Be
Alright in the End doesn't feel especially like early Weezer, not with the
dexterous syncopation of "I've Had It Up to Here" providing a
midpoint palate-cleanser and a neo-prog rock suite concluding the proceedings.
By having the record follow these twisty detours, Cuomo provides a counterpoint
to the classicist pop Weezer pursue elsewhere, but even such succinct, sculpted
pop as "The British Are Coming," "Ain't Got Nobody,"
"Cleopatra," and "Go Away" (the latter a duet with Best
Coast's Bethany Cosentino) never feels like a desperate scramble back home.
Rather, a feeling of acceptance underpins Everything Will Be Alright in the
End: there's a sense that Weezer made another record of massive, hooky rock not
only because that's what the fans want but because they know it's what they do
best.
---
Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/comics-in-motion-podcast/message
Everything Will Be Alright in
the End Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Two songs into Everything
Will Be Alright in the End, Rivers Cuomo sings "we belong in the rock
world," a repudiation of the big beat experimentation of Raditude, a 2009
record that found Weezer working with such pop producers as Dr. Luke and Butch
Walker. Weezer fans eager for Pinkerton, Pt. 2 are often quick to bristle at
Cuomo's experimentations, so when the guitarist sings that they're
"rockin' out like it's '94," he's not only not lying -- they went so
far as to once again hire Ric Ocasek, the producer of the group's debut, to
helm this ninth studio album -- but he's reassuring his audience that he's left
all those pounding dance beats behind. The weird thing is, Weezer already shook
off the ghost of Raditude via 2010's quickly released indie Hurley, so the
emphasis on the group returning to rock feels a little odd, but Everything Will
Be Alright in the End does trump its immediate predecessor by being bigger,
bolder, slicker, and stickier than Hurley. Some of this is indeed due to the
presence of Ocasek. His exacting production, anchored as much in pummeling
arena rock as new wave pop, polishes and preserves Cuomo's quirks, but it's
also true that Rivers has decided to indulge in his eccentricities once again.
Take away the woolly mammoth-sized guitars and "Back to the Shack,"
with its overt references to "In the Garage," and Everything Will Be
Alright in the End doesn't feel especially like early Weezer, not with the
dexterous syncopation of "I've Had It Up to Here" providing a
midpoint palate-cleanser and a neo-prog rock suite concluding the proceedings.
By having the record follow these twisty detours, Cuomo provides a counterpoint
to the classicist pop Weezer pursue elsewhere, but even such succinct, sculpted
pop as "The British Are Coming," "Ain't Got Nobody,"
"Cleopatra," and "Go Away" (the latter a duet with Best
Coast's Bethany Cosentino) never feels like a desperate scramble back home.
Rather, a feeling of acceptance underpins Everything Will Be Alright in the
End: there's a sense that Weezer made another record of massive, hooky rock not
only because that's what the fans want but because they know it's what they do
best.
---
Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/comics-in-motion-podcast/message
1 hr 40 min