Weezer - Make Believe


Weezer is one of the oddest bands that you can come across. Depending on what time of their career you look at, they could be confused with three or four different bands. They started out as a wanna-be Beach Boys with heavier guitars, became the forebearers of the modern emo scene, sounded like Oasis with less personality, and then like an even less musical KISS. The scatterbrained nature of Rivers Cuomo makes it hard for anyone to maintain a fandom with this band, as nothing is ever constant. For many bands, an evolution of sound is a signal of maturity, and a beacon of good things. For Weezer, changing sound seems to be the only thing that keeps them from fading away into obscurity. "Make Believe", the bands fifth full length album, finds the band in a crossroads. The album was scheduled to be released in 2003, coming off the heels of "Maladroit", but Rivers decided that the songs he had written weren't up to snuff. He was directionless, as evidenced by the creation of a rap/rock song titled "Mo Beats" coming from a self=professed geek. The project was shelved, as Rivers studied meditation, and two years later, "Make Believe" has finally been birthed.

"Beverly Hills" kicks things off, and is the first single. The song is built entirely on a three chord progression of double beats, a similar structure to an unreleased song called "Blast Off". The verses are virutally spoken, and stilted. For a band so tied to melody, it's an especially jarring phenomenon. The chorus kicks in, and all is right with the world. The hook is enormous, and has carried the song to the highest chart position of any Weezer song ever. A talkbox turns a simple solo into a memorable moment, and the song comes together in the second half, proving to be an effective album opener and single.

"Perfect Situation" is a classic Weezer song in every sense. From the guitar tone to the flowing melody, this song could have shown up on the Blue Album. Piano lines fill the verses, as a baseball metaphor serves the purpose of making Rivers out to be a loser, the one thing he seems to be good at. The chorus is not really a chorus, but a collection of whoas that build to dizzying heights.

"This is Such a Pity" opens with a chugging Cars-like guitar riff and an 80's synth line. An understated melody brings into the chorus, where the synth becomes more prominent, giving the song a different feel than any Weezer song. The melodies stay understated throughout the entire song, as the most lyrical effort is the guitar solo, which is a return to melodic playing, instead of the tonal and shred solos of the last two albums.

"Hold Me" is the first ballad on the album, and one of the better ones that Rivers has written in some time. Starting out with only clean guitar and his voice, Rivers expresses his fear in as few words as a song will allow, letting the song build. The chorus kicks in as a wall of sound, with Rivers showing newfound power in his voice. The second verse features the addition of background vocals which add a sense of grandeur to the song, which is the absolute highlight of the first half of the album.

"Peace" mixes acoustic guitars with electrics to build a different sound than the overdriven Weezer we're used to. The lyrics are lacking ("if there's something I can't grab, you can bet I'll pay the tab"), but Rivers more than makes up for the lack of development with the single best vocal performance of his life. His voice has never had this much power, and it's amazing to hear it come out of the speakers. This is another song without a true chorus, but it does feature another huge section of whoas which anchor the song and keep it flowing. A chorus would have been better, but this is Rivers trying not to be formulaic with his songwriting.

"We are all on Drugs" is the requisite song about drugs, but this time it's rallying against the drug culture. At least I think it is, but I can't really tell, since the lyrics are so vapid and worthless in this song that they make me cringe. However, this features an 80's hair metal style chorus and solo which are bombastic and huge, ushered in by a call of "give it to me". The sheer fact that this song sounds fun is enough to make it acceptable.

"The Damage in Your Heart" follows, and starts the more plaintive second half of the album. A laid back feel with lower distortion on the guitars sets the mood for a plaintive but reserved vocal from Rivers. An urging to let the past go, this song tries to be a sentimental pop song, but it lacks the immediate hook the band is known for. There's nothing wrong with this song, but it doesn't stand out the way that it should.

"Pardon Me" is the opus of this album. This is Rivers baring his soul to tell the world that he's sorry for everything that he's ever done to hurt anyone, and is a direct result of his meditation practice. The song features the most chord changes of any song on the album, and the vocal follows a wandering melody that doesn't stand out. That actually works for this particular song, since a stronger melody would draw attention away from the message. The solo builds into a rousing final chorus that shows that even if you don't like the song, the message can't be ignored. Rivers is truly sorry for everything that he's done, even if you think that includes putting out his last two records.

"My Best Friend" was originally written for the soundtrack to Shrek 2, and that shows. The song is the most up tempo on the record, and features vapid lyrics about loving a friend. Nothing is spectacular about it, and it features guitars that are far too overdriven and processed to be natural. The staccato guitar of the chorus calls to mind "Why Bother?", but fails to live up to the energy of that song.

"The Other Way" is another slower and plaintive pop song. Again, Rivers goes to a restrained vocal performance, this team married to a better vocal melody in the verses. The chorus is another simple one that isn't fully developed, but it doesn't take anything away from the song.

"Freak Me Out" is the oddest track on the record. With a musical backdrop of soft cymbol hits and guitar harmonics, it sounds as though Rivers was listening to a lot of jazz during the time he wrote this. The lyrics are again less than developed, but the melodies are solid, and the background vocals are magical in the chorus. The atmosphere of this song sells it, and turns a potential disaster in genre hopping into another pop gem.

"Haunt You Every Day" is the first "epic" closer to an album since "Only in Dreams." This song is a minor key, piano driven path through the hardships of being Rivers Cuomo. The chorus to the song is yet another that is less developed than you would expect from Cuomo, yet it retains the feel of the song to near perfection. The real ride of the song is the guitar solo, which shows more feeling than any words Rivers can pick at this time in his career.

The bottom line on this album is that it's a bit of a return to form for Weezer, but it also has some curveballs thrown in it. Songs like "Perfect Situation" show that Weezer are still kings of the pop world, where songs like "We are all on Drugs" show that they still don't care enough to put out their best work. Still, on the basis of the songs given here, it's hard not to think that the collection of songs that Rivers hasn't released, due to his prolific writing and his quality, might be able to rival some musical legends if he were to really put his mind and heart into putting out great albums. As it stands, "Make Believe" is a fine pop record, a better record than the last two Weezer albums, but a reminder that the band has yet to reclaim their status as the best pop band in the rock world.

Rating: 88/100