Artist: Weezer
Album: Make Believe
Rating: 5 (out of 10)

I used to know a band called Weezer. They were great. Their first album was fun-loving in an emo/indie kind of way. It was unique and lovable, while at the same time relatable (is that a word?). Their second album, my fav of them all, entitled Pinkerton, was raw Weezer all the way. It was especially raw Cuomo in the lyrics. Never have I listened to a more open, self-deprecating album (us emo types dig the self-deprecating lyrics). It was still fun-loving in such a way that it countered the self-deprecation so as to not be entirely serious. Clever Cuomo and company… clever.

Next comes the almost concurrent release of the “Green Album” and Maladroit. These two albums returned more to the refined, cleaned-up Weezer that we saw in the first album. These two albums were more pop and less indie, yet they were also fun-loving, which, again, served to somehow appropriately countered another aspect of the record that needed countering (i.e., the over-the-top pop). I took the albums to be almost a concerted effort to be over-the-top pop in a satirical and, of course, fun-loving sort of way. It was as if Weezer said: We’re taking a break from the raw, emo, self-deprecation to show Britany Spears and the like that we can release two albums within months of each other, packed with pop songs to show how easy it is to make even better pop… that rocks. Oh and they did. It was glorious. Twenty-three songs of pop Weezer. As you can see, I approved.

Fast forward to present day and the release of the latest album appropriately titled Make Believe. I’m sure long-time Weezer fans will think the album is make believe or was at least conceived in the land of make believe. It sounds like Weezer, even much like the pop-style of Weezer manifested in the Green Album and Maladroit… but with some important differences. In Make Believe it seems as though the singer, Rivers Cuomo, came up with all his lyrics in 30 minutes… well technically 10 minutes because he was probably watching Who Wants to Be a Hilton and worked on the lyrics on the commercial breaks. Likewise for the music. Not only is Make Believe just plain old pop, it’s crappy pop. At least in the Green Album and Maladroit the pop rocked harder than anything else on the radio. To make a long criticism short, I simply sense no artistic drive in the music or lyrics of this new album.

Or is Weezer telling us something? Maybe this album is make believe in a sense and we’re supposed to see it as some anti-crap-pop message. Well, I doubt its so deep. This is just another case of bands not taking their bow out of the business when they need to. I won’t say it’s as bad as the decrepit Stones continuing to play and release albums at this point in their “careers,” but I do think Weezer has lost it’s touch. Pitchfork gave the album a 0.4 out of 10… yes, a 0.4 out of 10! I think that’s a bit harsh, but they seem to share many of the same feelings about Make Believe as I do.

So, on a scale of 1 to 10… I give Make Believe a 5, which, mind you, is a failing score.

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