Everything Will Be Alright in the End is the ninth studio album by the American
alternative rock band Weezer, released on October 7, 2014. It is the first
Weezer album released by Republic Records, and the third produced by Ric
Ocasek, who previously produced Weezer and Weezer.
Everything Will Be Alright in the End departs from the electronic pop
production of Weezer's previous two albums, Raditude and Hurley, returning
to a sound more reminiscent of their earlier albums. The lyrics deal with
singer Rivers Cuomo's relationship with his father figures, fans and women.
The album received positive reviews, becoming the most acclaimed Weezer album
since Pinkerton. It is the band's fifth album to peak in the Billboard 200 top
5, reaching number 5 and selling 34,000 copies its first week. The album has
produced four singles: "Back to the Shack", "Cleopatra", "Da Vinci" and "Go
Away". Background
In 2010, Weezer released two albums: Hurley, and a collection of unreleased
material, Death to False Metal. Shortly after their release, the band announced
that they had begun work on a ninth studio album, with the intent of a 2011
release. Set to be produced by Shawn Everett, who had worked with the band on
their previous two releases, the album was shelved. At this time, band frontman
Rivers Cuomo stated: "We just started working on our tenth record. I was
talking to the producer and he was saying, "These songs sound totally
different from Hurley. Hurley was kind of dark, and the new songs sound like
you’re 16, riding your bicycle to get a Slurpee." The band abandoned work on the
album, in order to give primary songwriter Cuomo more time to write more
material. Cuomo wanted to create a "complex,
classic album", but hit a creative wall during the hiatus. In May 2013,
following his yearly Vipassana meditation trip, Cuomo came up with "a
strong vision of the album". He announced plans to begin recording a new
album in January 2014, with work continuing through the summer. Ric
Ocasek was announced as the album's producer; Ocaseck produced the band's
self-titled first and third albums, otherwise known as the Blue Album and
the Green Album. On March 19, 2014, Weezer released a clip of two new songs
on the band's official YouTube account that ended with the words "in the studio
now". On June 13, the album title was announced.
Recording The band chose Ric Ocasek as the
producer based on the feeling that he would best be able to return to "the
sound and the vibe and the energy of where [the band] came from", while also
allowing them to "explore and try new things". The band recorded the majority
of the album in The Village, a recording studio located in Los Angeles,
California. Bassist Scott Shriner described Ocasek's production style as
"very serious", commenting that at one point the band considered featuring a
whistling section in "Da Vinci", which Ocasek rejected.
Writing and composition Over 200 songs were considered for the
album, with 20 being tracked and "a dozen or so" being chosen for the album.
According to the album's official press release, the album is organized
thematically around three groups of songs: "Belladona", "The Panopticon
Artist" and "Patriarchia". Band leader Rivers Cuomo described the album's theme
as "an increased awareness of the impermanence of everything we [take] for
granted [and] "how to make peace with that." Drummer Patrick Wilson described
the album's sound as "bombastic, loose, kind of booming. [The] record sounds
like it’s going to have the tight structure of the Blue Album with a
little bit more abandon like Pinkerton". The band stated the album would feature
less "modern pop production" than their previous two albums, Raditude and
Hurley. The album as a whole has been described as alternative rock and power
pop. "Belladonna" includes the songs "Ain't
Got Nobody", "Lonely Girl", "Da Vinci", "Go Away", "Cleopatra" and "Return To
Ithaka", all of which deal with Cuomo's relationships with women. "Lonely Girl",
written by Cuomo and Joshua Berman Alexander, features a power pop sound
and "blend of heavy guitars mixed with a soft-singing Rivers Cuomo" and has been
compared Weezer's earlier style on The Green Album. "Da Vinci", also co-written
by Cuomo and Alexander, serves as the album's third single. Scott Heisel of
Alternative Press compared the song, sonically, to "Pork and Beans", off The
Red Album. He also described the song as "a love song of the purest order,
directed toward a beautiful woman [...] or perhaps a soothing lullaby to a
crying infant." The song also features a prominent whistling hook, which producer
Ric Ocasek heavily criticized. The preceding single, "Cleopatra", was
written solely by Cuomo. The song features the use of harmonica, acoustic
guitar and a heavier sounding middle eight, which Chris Coplan at Consequence
of Sound characterized as sounding like Weezer. Cuomo took inspiration for the
song from the Shakespeare tragedy, Antony and Cleopatra.
Tracks under "The Panopticon Artist" include "Back to the Shack", "I've Had
It Up To Here" and "The Waste Land" and deal with Cuomo's relationships to
others, particularly his fans. The album's first single, "Back to the
Shack", lyrically deals with the wish to return "to [the band's] 1994 roots",
with Rolling Stone describing it as a "nerdy, self-referential [...]
guitar-heavy track". HitFix reviewer Dave Lewis found that the song serves as
a thematic continuation of two previous Weezer songs: "In The Garage" from The
Blue Album and "Memories" from Hurley. "I've Had It Up To Here" features Cuomo
bringing "finest mock-operatic metal voice" and a "dexterous syncopation
[...] providing a mid-point palate cleanser", and lyrically deals with his
frustrations with "unappreciative masses". The bridge to the song was also
noted for its "Queen-ly choral flourishes and skyscraping high notes."
The final group of songs, "Patriarchia", are "Eulogy for a Rock Band", "The
British Are Coming", "Foolish Father" and "Anonymous", which deal with his
relationship with his father, "with a new spin". "Eulogy for a Rock Band",
deals with the band's relation to "the great rock bands that came before [them]
as they are retiring [...] We're kind of in that spot now." "The British Are
Coming", written solely by Cuomo, features lyrical references to American
Revolutionary War, acoustic guitars and an "old school Weezer" guitar solo.."
The verses went through several lyrical changes, with Cuomo debating whether
adding a personal angle to the song or purely writing from the point of view of
the founding fathers. "Foolish Father" features "plea for paternal forgiveness
that crests with a small choir singing" the album's title. The song was
initially inspired by the Shakespeare tragedy, King Lear.
Entertainment Weekly reported that the album would feature an "ambitious
three-part suite", which includes the song "My Mystery", which was later
re-titled "Anonymous". The suite was later revealed to be titled "The
Futurescope Trilogy", also featuring "The Waste Land" and "Return to Ithaka",
which serves to "close out the album with a cacophony of guitars, percussion,
and harmonies" that includes a five concurrent guitar solos in "Return to
Ithaka". Pitchfork writer Ian Cohen compared the ambitious trilogy to both
the band's unfinished rock opera, Songs from the Black Hole and their 2008
single, "The Greatest Man That Ever Lived".
Promotion Since March 19, 2014, the band began
releasing a weekly video series, with twenty-four installments being included
so far. Several clips featured the band working in the studio and also revealed
several song titles for the then-unnamed album, including "Ain't Got Nobody" and
"The Waste Land". The ninth installment of the series eventually revealed the
title to the album, while the eleventh revealed the album cover by visual
artist Christopher McMahon. The original release date of September 30 was
announced through both the web series and Entertainment Weekly, along with a
behind-the-scenes look into the recording sessions.
In February 2014, the band performed the first single from the album, titled
"Back to the Shack", on the 2014 Weezer Cruise. The studio version of the song
premiered on July 21 on the band's YouTube channel, and was released as a
single the following day. On July 23, they performed the live TV debut of the
song on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
On July 21, the band announced the album would be available for pre-order on
PledgeMusic. The band also announced plans to perform the entire album,
"front to back", in certain small venues. On September 8, the band debuted
a second single from the album, "Cleopatra", while also releasing
upcoming album art, along with more pre-order information. The full album
was made available on iTunes Radio on September 30, 2014, as part of the First
Play series. On November 18, a third single from the album was released, "Da
Vinci". The fourth single, "Go Away", was released on July 24, 2015, along
with a music video. Reception
= Critical reception= According to Metacritic, Everything Will
Be Alright in the End has received an aggregated score of 77/100 based on 33
reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Stephen Thomas Erlewine at
AllMusic states "there's a sense that Weezer made another record of massive,
hooky rock not only because that's what the fans want but because they know it's
what they do best", citing songs like "The British Are Coming", "Ain't Got
Nobody", "Cleopatra" and "Go Away". Scott Heisel of Alternative Press
comments that it "might not be the best Weezer album, but most definitely is the
perfect Weezer album, at least right now." Heisel points out risks on the
album, such as 5/4 to 4/4 time signature shifts heard on "Cleopatra" that
eventually feels "right at home". At Billboard, Jillian Mapes declares it the
best Weezer album since Maladroit, stating "A handful of tracks strewn with
cheesy metaphors shows the impersonality that mars Cuomo's post-Pinkerton
songwriting, despite some redeeming musical qualities that reaffirm Weezer
as a purveyor of feedback and fuzz." Consequence of Sound writer Dan Caffrey
notes that "Everything Will Be Alright in the End doesn't just transport us to
Weezer's younger days — it ushers us into their future. And for the first
time in a while, it's looking pretty bright." Mischa Pearlman at NME declares
"It's no Pinkerton, but Weezer, finally, are back on track." Pearlman considers
"Foolish Father", "Lonely Girl", "Go Away" and "The Futurescope Trilogy"
suite to be great tracks. Caryn Ganz of Rolling Stone comments that "the spirit
of reconciliation is strong on Everything Will Be Alright in the End."
Ganz also notes "The tracks devoted to Weezer's bond with their listeners are
the most tormented and theatrical". Sputnikmusic reviewer Adam Thomas
describes it as a "return to form", explaining that "a whimsical soundscape
of 90's fuzz and the cheesy late 70's arena rock guitar harmonies that made
Weezer both so cool and horribly uncool at the start of their career." Rock
Sound's David McLaughlin rated the album a 7/10, declaring it to give the band's
first two albums a "good go". McLaughlin concluded with that the album "feels
like a cohesive, artfully crafted whole."
The album appeared on several annual "best-of" lists in 2014. Rolling Stone
named the album the fourteenth best of the year, praising the band for
"rediscovering the art of the three-minute girl jam", while also
expanding their sound. Robin Hilton called it "the record of the year",
while Alternative Press labeled it the seventh essential album of the year. The
album was included at number 41 on Rock Sound‍ '​s "Top 50 Albums of the Year"
list. The album was included at number 9 on Kerrang!‍ '​s "The Top 50 Rock Albums
Of 2014" list. = Commercial performance=
Everything Will Be Alright in the End debuted at number five on the Billboard
200 with 34,000 units sold, making it Weezer's fifth top 5 album, as well as
their seventh top 10 album in a row. The album debuted at number ten on the
Canadian Albums Chart, selling 3,500 copies.
Track listing Personnel
Charts = Year-end charts=
References Citations
Sources External links