He settled down, made up with his estranged dad and, in the most bizarre form of aversion therapy imaginable, spent several weeks stuck on
Advanced in terms of the masterful pop melodies of Ain’t Got Nobody, Foolish Father and Eulogy For A Rock Band (a canny rewrite of the Blake’s 7 theme), as well as post-modern songs about, well, being Weezer. Lead single Back To The Shack, for instance, mimics the first album’s powerchord chug as Cuomo champions a revival of his early mojo by rejecting ‘stupid singing shows’ and ‘rockin’ out like it’s ‘94’ on ‘the Strat with the lightning strap’.
A rare admission from a rock band that lost sight of their original appeal, it should be subtitled Take Note Radiohead. If the Justin Hawkins collaboration I’ve Had It Up To Here and the sporadically inspired three-part Futurescape Trilogy that closes the album belly-flop into Queen’s almighty cheese vat, they’re tempered with the artful emo of Da Vinci (‘Da Vinci couldn’t paint you/Stephen Hawking can’t explain you’) and Go Away, a classic candyfloss rock’n’roll duet with Best Coast’s Bethany Cosentino. A consistently sparkling Weezer album then; just like the old days.
