Weezer are in an upbeat mood on their 11th album, Pacific Daydream.
Weezer are in an upbeat mood on their 11th album, Pacific Daydream.
"Hanging out on a summer night," sings Rivers Cuomo. "I took her out to the ocean," he croons at another point. "Let's chill out on this island / I've been sucking on a lime and coconut."
If you hadn't quite guessed the vibe for Weezer's 11th album from those lyricsamples, the chorus for the record's second song is Cuomo singing, "Keep cranking them Beach Boys" over soothing Miami surf-pop.
The song's called Beach Boys, and he sings large chunks of it in falsetto. Of course he does, because Pacific Daydream is an album designed for a summer party.
It suggests that if you're not wearing a Hawaiian shirt and novelty hat while standing in a paddling pool sipping on a Corona-and-lime, you're doing it all wrong.
There's absolutely nothing wrong with that. Beck, another act with a darker past who also came up in the 90s, just did the same thing on Colors and came up trumps. After all, it's just about summer, and we need tunes to soundtrack it.
The problem, of course, is Weezer's best work has come from a bleak place, and, lately, there have been diminishing returns. I'm a fan, but I haven't listened to anything post Hurley, their 2010 album that felt like their once-firm grip on pop culture guitar-rawk had slipped from their grasp.
Pacific Daydream doesn't return them to their former glory. It's too busy trying to party. Weezer have already anticipated a backlash, announcing The Black Album - a record more in line with their four colour-themed records of the past - is ready for release in early 2018.
But it's hard to be mad at a band for soundtracking a pretty amazing pool party. Pacific Daydream just wants to have a good time, and it gets there: Mexican Fender is a beautiful car crash between Avril Lavigne and Fall Out Boy, Happy Hour is an Island in the Sun sequel with breezier beats, and La Mancha Screwjob surely sets a record for the number of sun puns it packs into its three-and-a-half minutes.
Best of all is Feels Like Summer, a rush of big beats and pop hooks that makes you feel like you're mainlining frozen Coke. They should use that to open their stadium show with the Foo Fighters in February. It would be a summer stunner.
Weezer - Pacific Daydream Label: Atlantic Stars: 3.5 Verdict: Weezer have fun in the sun
