Album Review: Weezer – Pacific Daydream (Crush Music)

The air of excitement that comes with any new Weezer release is infectious. It’s also well deserved seeing as they are one of the best soft rock/alternative bands of the last 20+ years. Everybody knows songs like Buddy Holly, Gone Fishin’ & Beverley Hills.

What makes Weezer such a compelling band is more than just catchy rock tunes. The inventive & imaginative style they play is utterly fascinating. They have so much talent, none more so then frontman River Cuomo.

Pacific Daydream is Weezer’s eleventh studio album & was released on October 27th 2017 via Crush Music Group.

The double header of Mexican Fender & Beach Boys showcases their variety perfectly. The former having lovely melody backed up by the power of Cuomo’s voice, wicked guitar rhythm & a super-catchy chorus. While the latter is a more upbeat, radio friendly & bouncy tune.

There is something warming about getting a track like ‘Feels Like Summer’ with Winter is just around the corner. Its use of electronica gives it a ‘club-lite’ feel but with an upbeat edge that is matched by Happy Hour. Even if the latter is one of the least memorable of the album. Unfortunately this is where things start to go wrong.

There is certainly an argument that Pacific Daydream isn’t exactly Weezer stretching themselves. Songs like Weekend Woman, QB Blitz & Sweet Mary are catchy & nice little songs but hardly going to be ed as high points.

In fact the latter half of the album is mostly forgettable with song after song blending into one another. It’s very disappointing to see such a talent seem to stop trying. The final two tracks, La Mancha Screwjob & Any Friend of Diane’s see things off with some nice melody & great vocals but that’s about it.

Pacific Daydream is not going to be ed as one of the better Weezer offerings unfortunately. It’s not a bad album in the conventional sense, we’ve just come to expect much better from the soft-rock group.

Weezer – Pacific Daydream Full Track Listing:

1. Mexican Fender
2. Beach Boys
3. Feels Like Summer
4. Happy Hour
5. Weekend Woman
6. QB Blitz
7. Sweet Mary
8. Get Right
9. La Mancha Screwjob
10. Any Friend of Diane’s

Pacific Daydream is out now & you can check it out yourself via all major outlets including Apple Music below.