Published on Apr 20, 2004
Pinkerton starts out slowly, and from the very first chord
the listener can tell that this album is far removed from the
sugary lyrics of Weezer’s freshman effort. The pounding, driving
bass-line of “Tired of Sex” is oppressive, stifling — the
overlaid, terribly out-of-character guitar solo feels like a
lifeline thrown to a drowning man. This album is indeed not a happy
one, and songs like “Buddy Holly” are a long way away.
The fuzz-tones of “Getchoo” lift us up a bit, but the theme of
the album — which has been well-documented elsewhere, and which I
won’t repeat — is becoming more evident; paranoia, rejection,
loss, and hopelessness creep. (Ok, perhaps I did repeat a bit.)
These first few tracks aren’t great, aren’t standouts, but they do
provide a consistent feel, characterized by solid musicianship.
The mechanical nature of the first half of the album starts to
take over between “No Other One” and “Why Bother?” expanding on the
rhythms of the disc-opener. (One would be remiss not to compare
this to the act so despaired of in that disc-opener.)
The middle of the album is where the real meat, musically
speaking, is found. “Across the Sea,” “The Good Life” and “El
Scorcho” are the standout tracks of the album, the ones that stand
up to repeated listens, and most notably, listens out of context of
the rest of the album. Clever bass-lines, catchy melodies, and good
emotional resonance could make each one of these a successful
single.
And from there, the album begins to descend. The final two
tracks of the “album proper” are weak and somewhat ill-conceived,
with some good melodies but otherwise lacking in emotional
resonance. The final track I find to be the worst — contrived,
obvious, and unnecessary.
This album, when viewed as a whole, is certainly stronger than
it has any right to be. The good portions, when viewed
individually, comprise only a third of the music — but in context,
the album flows well, if a bit unevenly.