Weezer - 'Make Believe' (Polydor) Released 09/05/05

In the four years since Weezer released the critically acclaimed ‘Maladroit’, (while Rivers Coumo has been spending his time at Harvard studying the great and the good of English and American Literature) the post-grunge, hook heavy guitar pop which his band have made their own since 1994 had a re-emergence for about five minutes but has since been trodden all over by the materialization of a host of more minimalist, angular synthesizer laden bands. A lesser man would have buckled under the pressure, not Rivers Coumo, on ‘Make Believe’ he just gives all these young upstarts the middle finger.

The album contains all the sardonic wit of old, from dreams of "rolling like a celebrity" on ‘Beverly Hills’ to chorus call of 'We Are All On Drugs’ with its tongue and cheek tale of constantly being high. There too are the understated melodies driving the whole album along on tracks like ‘Hold Me’ which is a tender ballad interspersed with a rousing chorus, and on ‘The Other Way’ which is paradoxical in the fact that its joyous soundtrack covers lyrics full of self doubt; a theme that pervades the whole record.

The thing about this album is that while it opens with the instantly likeable, tongue in cheek, big rock of ‘Beverley Hills’ the rest of the album is ostensibly far removed from this. Its an album that slowly works its way into heart, an album about love, low self esteem and hope. Unlikely to attract new fans to Weezer it speaks directly to those who already appreciate the band for what they create. Brooding, contemplative rock songs for the under appreciated. An album for kids sitting in their bedrooms looking out their windows.

While ‘Make Believe’ may not reach the heights of the aforementioned ‘Maladroit’ or the earlier ‘Pinkerton’ it still cements Weezer’s place as the kings of melodic, semi-ironic but essentially sincere introspective and heartfelt ‘Geek Rock’. A couple of the songs are fillers, most notably ‘Peace’, but throughout the album's twelve songs it maintains a high standard. Its not an album that sets out to change the world or move music in a completely new direction, its about doing what this band does best. And that’s still better than most bands out there.