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The Rotunda
Monday, July 7, 2025

Weezer Back on the Map with Latest Album

Weezer

Weezer, at one point, was one of the best young bands in America. With hard-rock hits such as “Say it Ain’t So,” “Undone (The Sweater Song),” and even their mellower hit “Island in the Sun,” the sky was the limit for these nerdy rockers. But, low and behold, here we are in 2014 and Weezer is almost irrelevant nowadays. Electronic dance music has taken over and the music landscape has a whole new beast.

Weezer has been a band on the decline for what seems to be almost a decade. After the release of their first two albums, “Weezer (The Blue Album)” and “Pinkerton,” respectively, there hasn’t really been much to talk about. “The Green Album” and “Maladroit” were decent, but disappointing considering the aforementioned alternative rock masterpieces.

Then came Weezer’s real decline in 2005 with the release of “Make Believe” and its ever popular school bus radio hit, “Beverly Hills,” which was light years away from the Weezer many of its fans had come to appreciate. Things only got worse from there with “The Red Album,” followed by one of the most disappointing albums of the 2000’s, “Raditude.” Things got a little better with the release of “Hurley” in 2011, but, nonetheless, Weezer just wasn’t the same, or so we thought.

Weezer’s new album, “Everything Will Be Alright in the End,” is a return to the form of the nostalgic 90’s rockers. It has the poppiness that some of Weezer’s newer fans look for, but it also reintroduces the loud, heavy, rocking guitars that has been lacking from Weezer since “Maladroit.”

“Ain’t Got Nobody” kicks off the record in ferocious fashion with its semi-creepy anecdote at the songs’ start featuring a little girl telling her mother about her nightmare. It quickly transitions from the freaky anecdote to snarling guitars and vocalist Rivers Cuomo singing his signature repetitive style, stating, “Ain’t got no one to really love me.”

Following is the record’s lead-single, “Back to the Shack.” “Back to the Shack” is a signature Weezer rock n’ roll song. We’ve got awesome guitar riffs, we’ve got drums, we’ve got that funny keyboard-sounding guitar in the background; it’s everything every old-school Weezer fan has been longing for, and it’s mighty refreshing even to some of the casual listeners.

The record’s fourth track, “Lonely Girl,” is another must-hear. With easy-to-follow lyrics and “oooooh ooooooh” backing vocals, it’s a nice, fun song to sing along to. Plus, it’s at perfect jumping tempo, so this can be counted on to be played at live shows.

Following “Lonely Girl” is “I’ve Had It Up To Here,” a good presentation of Rivers Cuomo’s falsetto voice which leads into its piano- glittered successor, “The British Are Coming.”

Skipping to the records’ conclusion is a three-track parting gift, starting with “I. The Waste Land,” a very dark, villainous start to the odyssey that seamlessly leads into “II. Anonymous,” another piano- topped rocker featuring a theatrical Queen-like feel to it hooked with Cuomo yelling, “I don’t even know your name, I don’t know the words to say.” Ending the trilogy is “III. Return To Ithaka,” a beautiful guitar- driven orchestra putting the rocking, poppy, theatrical, electrifying icing on the cake.

“Everything Will Be Alright in the End” is a needed return to form for the alternative rock elites and it’s exactly what they needed. A lot of fans were starting to give up on Weezer, after having listened to their subpar releases in the last decade. However, Weezer have put themselves back on the map and are declaring that they are not done yet. They still have plenty of good music to make and they won’t go out silently, both literally and figuratively. This is the best Weezer record in years and it’s encouraging to see even the non-believers giving it another chance. The The real Weezer is back, baby.

My rating: 8/10 

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