Album review: Rivers Cuomo's 'Alone II'

One of the saddest songs on "Alone II," Rivers Cuomo's second album of unreleased demos, is about sipping Grey Goose in a VIP club suite while surrounded by a bevy of hotties. In the hands of, say, T-Pain, "Can't Stop Partying" would be an Auto-Tuned symphony of conspicuous consumption. But when it's just Cuomo's quavering voice and an acoustic guitar lamenting how "I got to have Patron, I got to have the E, I got to have a lot of pretty girls around me," one gets a faint hint of a broken man.

Weezer albums of late have tried masking Cuomo's myriad insecurities (girls, addictions and his own songwriting prowess) with dumb-as-a-post riffing and lyrics so hokey that they must be some kind of inside joke for an audience of one. But stripped of Big Rock pomp, "Alone II" is a more tender take on those concerns, with a few revealing moments of sweet-hearted guitar pop. "Don't Worry Baby" stacks surf-rock harmonies atop a thick lick of fuzz, and "I Was Scared" is vintage Sunny Day Real Estate proto-emo jangle.

Between this and the first "Alone" installment, there's enough gristle for the third-best Weezer album as yet unmade. Cuomo's Patron problems are beatable -- it's the "Pork & Beans" that's really derailed him lately.

-- August Brown

Rivers Cuomo
"Alone II"
(Geffen)
* * (2 stars)

Comments

[Jere]

I don't think it's fair to say that Weezer's most recent albums are about "masking" insecurities -- I think it's that he doesn't have the same insecurities as before. The first 6 songs on the red album are about growing up and growing older (and I'd like to point out that the first verse of "Troublemaker" is hokey on purpose - the verses get better as Rivers grows up in the song's storyline).

Having seen them in concert, Rivers seems genuinely happier than ever (though he seems to have started acting like the band's hype man at times... kinda strange). Also, I doubt girls are that big an insecurity now. He's married... The same muses that brought Pinkerton, unfortunately, probably aren't around, but I don't think that takes away from the strength of what Weezer's currently up to.

[Michael Tyler]

It's sad for me to see that this was the first thing that comes up on google. Rivers Cuomo is more than talented and every lyric has a meaning that no one can completely understand but him at times. I didn't think it would be too hard for you to do your job and write something about his album but apparently that is the case here. Rivers could probably do your job better than you August judging slowly by his lyrics. Some of his lyrics can be kind of "popish" and his new album might have different styles but all of which are good. He is a very intelligent man and knows more about music than you ever will. Perhaps he should have your job.