But then I felt so Green...
...when he's with you,
You don't know how Red I am...
...when I see you in White,
Now, all I'm waiting for...
...For the beach turned Black...
I will not get over this,
No no...
Because I'm Mr. Brightside...
Because you know....the bright side is usually "white"...
Weezer finally made a new album after one of the best albums of 2014 (only because I never listen to a lot of albums in that year...because I was still living in the past, I guess). And it's not just an album, it is yet another COLOURED album--The White Album. I thought they would go for the colour yellow, but I guess yellow wouldn't look great on an album. Anyway, that means it's going to be a different approach to their sound and lyrics.
Yeah, that's what I learned from my research for this review. Now for long-time Weezer fans, they probably already know what I'm talking about (note that it doesn't mean the non-coloured albums doesn't show an evolution of the band) :
The Blue Album is basically Weezer--the charming, geeky personality within its song deliveries and the instrumentals that are fun, raw and sometimes emotionally powerful (and some really beautiful solos). And the lyrics emphasis on Cuomo's life experiences (more about love and something about surfing and sweater).
The Green Album is the poppy Weezer--they still have their charm like in The Blue Album, but they sound cleaner and upbeat, but slightly stranger to its choices of chords in the commonly known chord structure and progression (yeah, sounds like I don't understand what I'm saying too, the irony). Lyrics are mostly about love (though some could get weird like that song "Crab"), nuff said.
The Red Album is the experimental Weezer--this is where it got even stranger and weirder to their musical approach as they get creative and that can be a good thing and/or a bad thing. Lyrics are rooted in more past experiences and nostalgia (like the time some guy try to messed with Cuomo in a bar and he warned him that he's a king...wait what?).
So based on the album cover, we can guess this is going to be the chill Weezer--an album that is not too beach pop as to not ruin the relaxing mood, or maybe it will be (at least we knew it immediately). But if you have listened to their first two promotional singles ("Thank God For Girls" and "Do You Wanna Get High?") before knowing this was going to be The White Album (with a theme related to "beach"), you probably would have thought that this was going to be another album that may not be too bad but forgettable (like "Hurley" and "Raditude").
However, that doesn't mean I don't like them--I only love one of them. Both songs may have an odd title choice but musically they were damn great. But lyrical presentation wise, "Do You Wanna Get High?" was more acceptable (and soon more enjoyable) than "Thank God For Girls". My God, Rivers Cuomo tried so hard to rap the verse in "Thank God For Girls" and it failed to gain my interest for more than 10 seconds. The chorus was....
....YEEEEAH THAT SUMS UP MY FEELINGS, I GUESS....
Lyrically...it's freaking funny. I don't know if it was meant to be funny, but you read the first verse and you'd be, "Haha, yeah. That would happen whenever you finished hangout with your friends the whole day and come back with your love getting very pissy so your love would give that hard love." And then the second verse made you think, "Haha, aww having awkward moments like that is kind of cute but also funny, especially that last part if I interpret it right." And then the last verse which was...."What the fudge did I just read?" But I'm not sure if the funny lyric worked on this instrumental. I guess it could work if the vocal presentation here was done better. But at the same time, using this instrumental for a funny lyric....ah, who am I kidding? If "The Sweater Song" meant to be funny but had a really, really awesome instrumental, then sure--why not?
Anyway, I don't like songs that are boasting about getting drunk and high whether it'd be alone or with friends or in parties with few exceptions....and "Do You Wanna Get High?" is one of them. I can't help but loving this song...to the point of getting addicted to this song (OH MY GOD WEEZER WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO MY BRAIN?!?!). This is the same thing happened when I heard the song "We Are All On Drugs", and I freaking love that song too (WHY IS IT WHEN WEEZER SINGS ABOUT DRUGS I CAN'T HELPED BUT LOVING IT?!?!). The instrumental here as well as the vocal presentation is just so, so good (but sometimes I can't help but wonder of where have I heard this song structure before).
But stick around (on Soundcloud) and you get to listened "King of the World" which is also another good song. The instrumental and the vocal presentation here sounds so fun to sway your head side to side (and yodel "Woah-Oh-Oh"), despite the irony that is the lyric. I'm not saying that the lyric is depressing or sad (or dark), but it deserves your sympathy and/or empathy. It's actually about Cuomo's wife little backstory and how this makes Cuomo wants to be the guy to cover for her in tenderness--it's damn sweet, man. This is also the first song that introduces the album cover.
Later, we have "L.A Girlz" and "California Kids" with the same song covers as "King of the World" proving the album to be The White Album. These songs (especially "California Kids") would become prominent examples of what we will expect in the album. "California Kids" starts the song with the sound of kids, waves, seagulls, and sweet notes from a xylophone and a guitar; then follow up with a guitar riff and Cuomo gives a little motivation to a waking dead soul in the first verse. In the album, this fits perfectly well as the introduction to the rest of the tracks as it straights up gives you a happy, comforting feeling of what's coming.
I think this reassures you even more when the second track "Wind in Our Sail" also follows the same beach-esque theme. As if having "California Kids", "King of the World" and "Do You Wanna Get High?" as my favourite songs from the album is not enough, "Wind in Our Sail" is also another favourite of mine. The song fills you with bright smiles and straight eyes of confidence about the present and the future in its message and its instrumental.
However, after this is where the album lost its track because "Thank God For Girls" was for some reason ended up as the third track, separating another beach-esque track "(Girl We Got) A Good Thing" from the first two songs. If this song was left out or put in somewhere near the end of the album, I think it would have worked much better. I did try skipping the song to "(Girl We Got) A Good Thing" before it even started and I do believe the three beach-esque tracks are supposed to be one mesmerizing long beach song.
I'm not saying that these three are the only songs that feel beach-esque--it just felt like these three are more connected together musically. The rest of the songs, while maintaining the main theme, each has their unique feel that either fuses with the tone of the album ("Do You Wanna Get High?", "King of the World" and "Jacked Up") or shifts that tone into that unique feel ("Summer Elaine and Drunk Dori", "L.A. Girlz" and "Endless Bummer").
They stated themselves that The Beach Boys and their experiences and stories from California are their inspirations to make this album, and it shows. Unlike other people who keep comparing every song in this album to sound like their previous works, I look at this album as its own thing--its own identity. Because the instrumental work here is something you don't usually find in their older works, aside from the guitar solo works.
Overall, this album shows a level of maturity and creativity (without going to the Beach Pop territory) in using a theme that anyone could have just lazily write. This album fills with genuine relaxation that keeps you smiling...perhaps because it fills your mind with silly memories or just because of every meaning you find behind the songs. The whole album feels very consistent the whole way--and even if you notice that there is a very slight difference of sound later on, it still really feels clean and solid as an album with beach-feel tune. So eventhough I don't like that one song, I still think this is a really beautiful, unforgettable album that they have made. And it's possibly better than Everything Will Be Alright In The End...Possibly.
So, upon the news about The Black Album coming up, will it be as good as The White Album or surpassed even more? How far could they go from here?
With that said, this album got my rating of: 5/5
Favourite: California Kids, Wind in Our Sail, (Girl We Got a) Good Thing, Do You Wanna Get High?, King of the World, Summer Elain and Drunk Dori, Endless Bummer
Like: L.A Girlz, Jacked Up
Mixed: Thank God For Girls
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