It seems that the general consensus regarding the past decade of Weezer’s career is that the band has unravelled and roam around aimlessly now. With the exception of a decent single here and there, the veteran rockers output post Maladroit has been subpar to say the least. But fear not true believers — the highly publicized claims that this ninth LP is a return to form is true! Well, kinda.
It’s not up there with their first two albums and it’s not going to erase the memory of that Hurley album cover or that Lil Wayne collaboration, but Everything Will Be Alright in the End is quite easily the best Weezer record of a very long time. It’s somewhat of a reset for the band. A reset that ironically breathes fresh life into the group by going back to basics. Charming geek chic and 80s metal guitar tones complete with noodling power pop hooks and catchy, simple songwriting are all trademarks the band have shown before, but here their putting all these individual pieces together in the kind of cohesive fashion thats evaded them for the longest time. There are a couple of speed bumps along the way, namely “The British are Coming” and “I’ve Had it Up to Here” (the latter was co-written by Justin Hawkins of The Darkness and sounds very much like his former band flirting with “Island in the Sun” while professing it’s undying love for Queen.). It’s alterations like this and the collaboration with Best Coast’s Bethany Cosentino which sees the group pull away into slightly distracting territories. Outside of these side steps, the rest of the album comes out swinging and continues to leave an impression throughout. With their fundamentals sharpened, their focus back on track and with a tongue-in-cheek look at the last few years, Weezer sounds rejuvenated and ready for the next chapter in their story.
