Pacific Daydream
Mexican Fender - in WCW they used to do cheap knock offs of songs as wrestler’s entrance themes to avoid paying the rights. The intro sounds like they have done this for I Believe In A Thing Called Love by The Darkness. This song is weird. It has quite a nice almost dreamy like chorus but the verses sound like Sugar Ray. Not bad, not great
Beach Boys - the lyrics really sound like they’ve been spat out by an AI machine, nonsensical. This is just a completely nothing song. At least when the Beach Boys are shit they’re hilariously so, Weezer could have done them the justice of doing a real stinker rather than this.
Feels Like Summer - I’ll give them this, I could imagine this being played on Radio 1 or something during summer so I suppose it’s set out what it meant to do. If this was a new band’s first song it’d fit right in with that vibe. It’s a shit song, no mistake but they’ve achieved what they were going for.
Happy Hour - I’ve a horrible feeling this album now is all going to blend into one because this sounds like an amalgamation of the two songs above.I feel like Weezer have never seen a happy hour because the ones I have experienced are just people delaying going home in a dark pub drinking a John Smiths. I did not enjoy this
Weekend Woman - the title of this fills be with dread with what the song will be like. There’s an absolutely gross ‘ahhh’ sound in the back which I think has been taking from Time Of The Season. This surprisingly has quite a good chorus (again, lyrics aside but let’s take that as read for all songs). I like this one, Rivers sounds like he’s singing a song he wants to rather than one he thinks will shift. Remove that horrid backing breath and this would be better. Pleasantly surprising
QB Blitz - this sounds like a song Kermit would sing on the Muppets or something if he was feeling a bit down about things… There’s a nice bit from the bridge to the chorus but the rest of the song is forgettable, not a lot to say
Sweet Mary - I’m confused by the album. Is it actually half decent or am I just basing it on not being as terrible as their other stuff? This song follows the same formula as the other songs - forgettable verse, quite a nice chorus/bridge. It sounds like there’s some horns being used which work well. Also noticed a recurring xylophone in songs which does make them a bit more palatable. I am going to say this is a genuinely good song
Get Right - this is another song where there’s not too much say as it’s quite formulaic but it’s a bit of a stomper. Oh fuck I like this album don’t I? Wow.
La Mancha Screwjob - and now we’re back, this is a bit of a duffer. However, it’s not a bad song per se, it’s just very flat. There’s some weird wooah oahhs in the song which don’t fit with the song and sound quite Bastille-esque which is cause for concern for anyone. There’s also an oddly tacked on 80s sounding guitar after the chorus. Not a fan of this, it’s generic radio rock again
Any Friend of Diane’s - and the album ends on a low note. This is a weird song to end on, Weezer are usually pretty good at making a closer but this is, like the song before, identikit rock. It’s not hateable again but aside from Feels Like Summer, all these songs are interchangeable.
Have to admit that I was pleasantly surprised by this. The lows aren’t ‘lows’ as such but more ‘blands’ whilst the highlights are songs I can see myself replaying again. There’s an odd balance though, it does sound like it’s been written for the radio airwaves and they’ve tried to tick certain boxes but underneath it all there is a good album I think