From
the pounding, primal assault of the opening
track "Tired of Sex," it's clear from the
outset that Pinkerton is a different record
than the sunny, heavy guitar-pop of Weezer's
eponymous debut. The first noticible difference
is the darker, messier sound — the
guitars rage and squeal, the beats are brutal
and visceral, the vocals are mixed to the
front, filled with overlapping, off-the-cuff
backing vocals. In short, it sounds like
the work of a live band, which makes it
all the more ironic that Pinkerton, at its
core, is a singer-songwriter record, representing
Rivers Cuomo's bid for respectability. Since
he hasn't changed Weezer's blend of power-pop
and heavy metal (only the closing song,
"Butterfly," is performed acoustically),
many critics and much of the band's casual
fans didn't notice Cuomo's signficant growth
as a songwriter. Loosely structured as a
concept album based on Madame Butterfly,
each song works as an individual entity,
driven by powerful, melodic hooks, a self-depricating
sense of humor ("Pink Triangle" is about
a crush on a lesbian) and a touching vulnerability
("Across the Sea," "Why Bother?"). Weezer
can still turn out catchy, off-beat singles
"The Good Life" has a chorus that is more
memorable than "Buddy Holly, " "El Scorcho"
twists Pavement's junk-culture references
in on itself, "Falling for You" is the most
propulsive thing they've yet recorded, but
their endearing geekiness isn't as cutesy
as before, which means the album wasn't
as successful on the charts. But, it's the
better album, full of crunching power-pop
with a surprsingly strong emotional undercurrent
that becomes all the more resonant with
each play.
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Pinkerton 