Weezer - Make Believe

Weezer’s a pretty odd duck, especially Rivers Cuomo himself. He defies all the conventions of rock and roll stardom, both in appearance and attitude. He makes serious rock music that anyone can embrace, but he also represents a demographic that mostly goes unnoticed. The geeky, awkward, frail and painfully shy guys who get the sand kicked in their face at the beach, and retreat to their bedrooms to play death rock and fantasize about the head cheerleader.

Weezer’s fifth album, Make Believe, is a synthesis of the two sounds and attitudes they have taken in the past. On the one hand, it’s very pop-oriented and catchy, and even a little happy. On the other hand, its emotional blood-letting and gushing sentimentality are enough to rival any emo band. Pinkerton had that going on, but the music was angry, visceral and gutsy, whereas Make Believe is mostly positive. I’m not sure how much I like this new flower-sniffing, I-have-erectile-dysfunction-but-I’m-still-smiling Rivers, but I guess it’s a little better than the bitter, misogynistic variety. What made Pinkerton so great, despite its over-arching maleness, was its honesty. Make Believe seems just a little bit too contrived, and I don’t think I buy it.

Rivers has definitely matured as a lyricist since The Blue Album, as his lyrics have a bit more eloquence to them than usual. Also, his guitar skill seems to have grown in leaps and bounds. The Green Album had me seriously worried, as all the guitar solos mirrored exactly the melodies sung in the verses. Maladroit assuaged that fear, but the songs weren’t very good, with a few exceptions. In truth, Make Believe isn’t a whole lot better, but there’s an honesty that was missing from the previous two albums, and a willingness to work through the problems rather than hiding behind big guitars. The problem is that he can’t seem to make up his mind between saying “I’ve got problems” and “I’ve got the solutions.” All the songs paint either a very grim picture, or a sickeningly cheerful one.

“Beverly Hills” starts off with a wicked good beat, and has a sense of fun that is pretty rare in this day and age. Weezer can always be counted on to provide a healthy dash of fun. The best example is the video for “Keep Fishin’,” which resurrected the Muppets from the dusty vault of TV history, and reminded us all that rock and roll can and should make you laugh. That fun drops off after the first track, but thankfully it’s replaced by eloquence and even-handedness. The gentle flow of emotions quickly becomes a rushing river, however, and by “Peace,” you’re wishing you had a life preserver. A good example of the sweetness making your teeth ache would be “My Best Friend,” which has a great sound to it, but the lyrics simply stab it dead. Its sappy sentimentality kills any chance of it rocking us, and we just end up wondering if Rivers has gone completely soft. Does Rivers really expect us to believe that he’s NOT a tortured soul when he just spent 7 of the last 8 tracks convincing us he was?

Rivers Cuomo is very smart, and he walks a fine line between sugary pop and grinding heavy metal. Sometimes he slips up, but experience serves him well. I just wish he would let down all the walls, and make an album that really told us how he felt. As it stands, though, Make Believe comes closest to the mark.

Prime Cuts:
Beverly Hills
This is Such a Pity
Perfect Situation

22 Rating: 8