Weezer
Everything Will Be Alright in the End
REPUBLIC
7/10
With Everything Will Be Alright in the End, Weezer has brought back something that’s been missing from their discography for a long time: a solid collection of songs. The LA band starts off strong with the energetic “Ain’t Got Nobody,” and proves that the first track wasn’t just a brilliant mistake with the second song (and standout single) “Back to the Shack.” It’s a one-two punch that reminds us how ridiculously fun and catchy Rivers Cuomo and company can be. There’s a sense of self-awareness about Everything that has taken the group back to their classic ’90s alt-pop sound, tinged with Weezer (Blue Album) nostalgia (“Lonely Girl”). There are moments within the comeback album when things fall a little flat, border on cheesy (à la “Da Vinci”), and get a bit messy (the chaotic “The Futurscope Trilogy: II. Anonymous”), but those are small missteps in what overall is a more polished Weezer sound. Their guitar hooks are on point, there is just enough fuzzy reverb, and they even compose an excellent fighting anthem with “The British Are Coming”—without a doubt the best track on the album. Everything definitely isn’t the best Weezer release, but it’s enough to have us turning “off those stupid singing shows” and “rockin’ out like it’s ’94.”
