"Lonely Girl" is much the same, taking things back to the bouncy alt-rock for which the band first achieved fame. This song is so '90s that it should show up in a listicle about shit '90s kids like. With a band like Weezer, that's a damn good thing to hear.
Like I said, "Back to the Shack," which is the latest Weezer song to get itself injected in the alt-rock radio lineup, is probably the weakest of the set. However, despite its dumb-guy rock chorus and its obnoxiously flat tone, it worms its way into your head like the best Rivers Cuomo hooks. You'll find yourself singing it and digging it despite yourself. Even when the guy writes a bad hit, he still writes a hit.
Finally, there's the stomping Decemberists riff "Cleopatra," the song which is the furthest outside of the '90s Weezer playbook. I couldn't hear it on Pinkerton, but it shows Weezer's renewed ability to consciously integrate modern-rock trends into its music without completely sucking. That's something I haven't been able to say about Weezer in some time.
Then there's the metal bridge which suddenly makes Cuomo seem sort of like a badass. It's the most experimental track released thus far, and also maybe the best. Score one for the guy in the Buddy Holly glasses.
Will the full record live up? It's streaming on iTunes Radio, so it's easy enough to find out now. But in the meantime, the previews show a renewed sense of self for a band many of us had written off after a string of increasingly wacky, attention-grabbing ploys. Weezer sounds comfortable in its own skin again after all these years, and it's great to hear it. This could just be the second life Cuomo's been asking for since 1994.
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