Pinkerton

Weezer

DGC Records, 1996

http://www.weezer.com

REVIEW BY: Matthew Turk

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: 04/20/2004

Pinkerton starts out slowly, and from the very first chord the listener can tell that this album is far removed from the sugary lyrics of Weezer's freshman effort. The pounding, driving bass-line of "Tired of Sex" is oppressive, stifling -- the overlaid, terribly out-of-character guitar solo feels like a lifeline thrown to a drowning man. This album is indeed not a happy one, and songs like "Buddy Holly" are a long way away.my_heart_sings_the_harmony_web_ad_alt_250

The fuzz-tones of "Getchoo" lift us up a bit, but the theme of the album -- which has been well-documented elsewhere, and which I won't repeat -- is becoming more evident; paranoia, rejection, loss, and hopelessness creep. (Ok, perhaps I did repeat a bit.) These first few tracks aren't great, aren't standouts, but they do provide a consistent feel, characterized by solid musicianship.

The mechanical nature of the first half of the album starts to take over between "No Other One" and "Why Bother?" expanding on the rhythms of the disc-opener. (One would be remiss not to compare this to the act so despaired of in that disc-opener.)

The middle of the album is where the real meat, musically speaking, is found. "Across the Sea," "The Good Life" and "El Scorcho" are the standout tracks of the album, the ones that stand up to repeated listens, and most notably, listens out of context of the rest of the album. Clever bass-lines, catchy melodies, and good emotional resonance could make each one of these a successful single.

And from there, the album begins to descend. The final two tracks of the "album proper" are weak and somewhat ill-conceived, with some good melodies but otherwise lacking in emotional resonance. The final track I find to be the worst -- contrived, obvious, and unnecessary.

This album, when viewed as a whole, is certainly stronger than it has any right to be. The good portions, when viewed individually, comprise only a third of the music -- but in context, the album flows well, if a bit unevenly.

Rating: B

User Rating: A


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© 2004 Matthew Turk and The Daily Vault. All rights reserved. Review or any portion may not be reproduced without written permission. Cover art is the intellectual property of DGC Records, and is used for informational purposes only.