We all know the iconic Weezer song “Beverly Hills.” The Los Angeles native group is back with its second self-titled album “Weezer” or the “White Album.”
In 1996, critics called Weezer’s first two albums “Pinkerton” and “Blue Album” failures. Today they are considered to be Weezer classics and among its best work. The song-writing was considered juvenile and aimless at its initial release, but by 2009 the album sales sky-rocketed. The albums gained a certain cult status and are appreciated as the band’s true beginning.
“White” is considered by many cultures as a symbol of renewal and rebirth. That’s what Rivers Cuomo, the lead singer and guitarist, hoped to accomplish with the album.
The “White Album” is brings the band back to its glory, pre-Pinkerton days, which is a universally good move. The ’90s millennial anthems in “Pinkerton” and the “Blue Album” kept old-school fans hooked on the band for years.
The lead song in “Everything Will Be Alright in the End,” released in 2015, explicitly states the band’s intentions of bringing back the dying-out mid-’90s emo and punk scene.
In the new album, Weezer is also channeling its inner Brian Wilson, Mike Love and the rest of the Beach Boys. “Good Thing” and “Endless Bummer” has the ’60s California beach vibe the band has been striving for. The soft chords and vocals reach back to that carefree era.
The power anthems are prevalent in the album through “Wind in our Sail” and “California Kids.” The tracks encourage fans to love themselves and give the self-esteem Weezer’s past music did not particularly provide. The song’s lyrics empower the listeners to accomplish anything they set their minds to: “We got the wind in our sail, and we can do so many great things together, together.”
“(Girl We Got a) Good Thing” brings a poppy and upbeat rhythm to the table, making every girl melt and every guy groan at the subjects’ perfect life together. Some of Weezer’s old vibes will never change.
“King of the World” has those same deep guitar riffs and abrupt, angst-filled lyrics every millennial remembers from the early days of Weezer.
The album itself to have a good variety of different tracks that captures the ’60s “Good Vibrations” of early beach music while rebranding themselves as a band that can accommodate the changing music industry. Although some of its musical habits are particularly hard to break, long-time Weezer fans will appreciate the shoutout to them for loving a once-hated group.