Weezer: Make Believe (2005)
Brandon Sears
So I know this site is just FULL of Weezer fans so I decided I will a treat you to a nice surprise and review the new Weezer album. The band return with their first full album since 2002's "Maladroit". Long time fans of the band are consistant whiners who just want nothing more than for Weezer to go back to how they used to be and utilize the writing style that was done during the bands debut self-titled album and "Pinkerton". So basically because of this, the band's last two albums where not looked upon as the classic album's that could match the first two. If you were to ask me, I'd say that the last two albums were fantastic with my only beef being that "The Green Album" was too short clocking in at about 29 minutes. As for Maladroit, it had a few really strong tracks ("Keep Fishin', "Dope Nose" and "Slob").
Anyway, with that being said, I should really talk about the new album. In 2005, Weezer has presented us with "Make Believe". Regarding all that I already said, I believe that MB is the strongest album they have put out since "Pinkerton". The album has such a wide variety of songs. For Example, the first single entitled "Beverly Hills" is basically your straight pop/new rock anthem where if you were to listen to "This is such a pity", you'd see the influence of the 80's or something similar to "The Killers". Some reviews are calling this cd "brutally honest" in the style of Rivers' writing. I would have to agree with that comment as well as adding that this is probably the most infectiously (is this a word?) catchy album I've heard in years. Despite rumours of the band breaking up and Rivers going insane(on the last tour he fined guitarist Brian Bell $2,000 for playing slightly out-of-tune) he managed to write a song on the album ("Pardon Me") devoted to that fact. All the tracks seem to blend together really well as one collective song dealing with the last few years of the bands life with the good sign of a healthy and devoted group of musicians.
All in all, I'd say this will be one of the best offerings of the year when it comes to an emo band (for those of you who still consider them that). I definatly think you should all listen to it with an open mind.
Brandon Sears is an insurance salesman by day and a superhero by night (not really). He has been writing for Modern Distraction since 2004. He lives in Sydney Mines with his wife, Ashley and his dog Toby.