River Cuomo and the gang are back at it with their newest self-titled release. Centered around Cuomo's experiences in Los Angeles and California, River wanted the work to reflect a beach sound. As such, the backing vocals heard throughout the record are reminiscent of a Beach Boys style. There are many standout tracks that highlight drug addiction, gender roles, and even River's sweet love for his wife, Kyoko. Cuomo has continued to bridge the gap between creator and listener by utilizing genius.com for lyrical annotations online that help the audience to understand what Cuomo is writing about.
White is quite a symbolic color for Weezer, as well. White means rebirth in this sense, a kind of reawakening for the band after a hit and miss decade of releases. Cuomo even acknowledges these shortcomings in the lyrics of this record. This album does not disappoint in this light. Weezer's White Album is easily their most consistent piece of work since Pinkerton. Tracks such as King of the World, Do You Wanna Get High?, and L.A. Girlz melodically tie contemporary themes such as addiction and maturity together most beautifully. Preview tracks such as Thank God for Girls take on rather comedic approaches to issues like gender roles in humorously crafted music videos. Weezer need not worry about their musical capability here, either. They have only become better over the years of touring and songwriting. The production is clean, and the tracks are catchy. What more could you want in a Weezer record?
8.0 / 10.0
Songs of Note: Do You Wanna Get High?, Wind in Our Sail, King of the World, L.A. Girlz
