Weezer has had the definition of a rollercoaster career. With each record over their almost thirty-year career, you never knew which Weezer would show up. From the early years of classics like “The Blue Album” and “Pinkerton,” you could expect a geek-friendly, nerdy power pop rock output from the group. As the years went on, the bands output became more and more inconsistent. With albums like “Raditude” and “Hurley,” fans began to question the quality of the band and whether or not they still had what made them special in the 90s.
In recent years, they have been proving those fans wrong with albums like “Everything Will Be Alright in the End” and “The White Album” being a return to form for the band. As a long time Weezer fan, I was reinvigorated by these new records, making the regression of Weezer’s 11th studio album, “Pacific Daydream” all the more disappointing.
On “Pacific Daydream,” Weezer sets out to make a sun-soaked album ready for the beach. Its straight-forward guitar tones and lyrics celebrating the California sunshine lend themselves well to the tracks strung together along this central theme. Opener “Mexican Fender,” slams in with a sharp guitar riff that fits the mood, singing of a summer love that Rivers can’t seem to get out of his head. While these lyrics aren’t inherently bad, it comes across as somewhat odd to hear an almost 50-year-old Rivers singing of these themes.
Rivers sings of a “hip-hop-world” on the lazily-titled track “Beach Boys.” The tune blends alt-rock grooves and poppy undertones to find the band at their most radio friendly and catchy. It fits right into the hip hop world that Weezer is so adamant about finding their footing in.
No track proves this idea more than the single “Feels Like Summer.” The use of overblown synths and springy base hit the listener like a brick wall as if to solidify their full-on pop genre change. The hook on “Feels Like Summer” is so catchy and easy to pick up that it seems that it was written for anyone to be able to sing along by the end of their first listen.
Much of the same can be said about the front half of the record. Tracks like “Happy Hour” and “Weekend Woman” remain shallow on all fronts but still find a way to get stuck in your head. Some classic Weezer themes shine through on track “QB Blitz” where Rivers’ geekiness shows through as he sings, “I can’t get anyone to do algebra with me.” It’s this endearing quality of the band’s lyricism that old time fans will find captivating.
“Pacific Daydreams” cracks start to show on the second half of the album. The tricks that Weezer pulls in the first half begin to repeat and become less interesting on the second go around. There just isn’t much variety on the track list as tracks like “La Mancha Screwjob” and “Get Right” bring nothing new to the table. The beach-ready themes I discussed earlier are thrown out the window, making the album feel unfocused and disjointed.
The album closes out with the acoustic ballad “Any Friend of Diane’s” which lays the album to rest with a thud. It’s a pleasant tune, and River’s falsetto vocal delivery lends itself nicely to the track. It doesn’t progress into as powerful a closer as I may have hoped, but instead just fades out, leaving the listener wanting more.
At the end of the day, “Pacific Daydream” shouldn’t be a surprise from a band that has had a more than spotty career. Its beach-inspired themes make it shine from the jump, but that sunshine slowly sets as the record progresses.
Many of the staples that have made Weezer great in their hayday are nowhere to be found here, but what remains is a competent album that has its moments. “Pacific Daydream” will be a frustrating listen for fans of their classics, but taken at face value, it’s a spotty and inconsistent alt-pop album.
Rating: 4/10
