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Weezer 'Make Believe'

added 19 December 2005 at 15.50

Three years on from the disappointingly patchy ‘Maladroit’, Weezer return. Unfortunately the geek rock heroes have delivered yet another set of frustratingly average music.

Since the commercial triumph of ‘The Blue Album’ and the critical adoration heaped on ‘Pinkerton’, frontman and bespectacled nucleus Rivers Cuomo has become a recluse, a student, painted the entire interior of his room black and existed as a generally moody fruitloop. But even while committing commercial suicide, a devoted fan base has stuck by him through two patchy albums in the vague hope of another ‘Say It Ain’t So’ or ‘The Good Life’ or <insert back catalogue highlight here…>.

And so to ‘Make Believe’. First out the traps was lead single ‘Beverley Hills’, a pleasant enough Joan Jett-aping romp through insecurity and anxiety, and fans the world over murmured, “Don’t worry, there’ll be more depth to the album.”

For a man in his mid thirties and five records down the line, you’d have hoped Cuomo would have something to say by now. Weezer have always released tracks of carefree abandon, but complaining about Beverly Hills celebrity culture is almost as shallow as the society it berates. Much better are ‘Perfect Situation’, ‘This Is Such A Pity’ and the ironic sideswipe of ‘We Are All On Drugs’ with its critique of narcotics staying just the right side of condescending.

The main problem here is that there just isn’t enough on this album to care about. Once again Weezer have produced an album with its fair share of highlights but little in the way of consistency. ‘Pardon Me’ is a stilted apology list, while ‘My Best Friend’ pulls out almost every lyrical cliché possible. Lacking edge and sparkle, the album’s non-specific self-loathing is at direct odds with the personal trauma so apparent on ‘Pinkerton’.

So as the suspense of a new Weezer album fades, Rivers Cuomo has become the depressed friend you just don’t care to help. And it won’t be the strength of the decidedly average ‘Make Believe’ that will dictate the future of the band. Their notoriously devoted fan base may well be about to speak, and if the result is negative there may be no second chances.
 

Weezer 'Make Believe' (Geffen) Released May 9 2005.

Tagged as Weezer, archive

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