Credible Effort?
CD Review: Make Believe (Geffen) by Weezer 
Weezer Geezer: At his best, Weezer front-man Rivers Cuomo turns his abundant hang-ups into crunchy pop-punk gems that soundtrack summers. Over the years he's been a phone-less recluse, enrolled at Harvard, fallen out with almost everyone in the music business – and made four compelling albums. This is rumoured to his (and, by extension, the band's) finest since the 1996 masterwork, Pinkerton. The advance single, Beverly Hills, was classic Weezer: a pop-metal romp with sarky lyrics and a ridiculously infectious chorus. But was there something sinister and sellout-ish about its radio-friendly simplicity and crystal clear production?
What’s Make Believe's wheeze? The album comes when Weezer's studied-nerd sartorial sense – all bad cardigans and horn-rimmed glasses – and tongue-in-cheek songwriting style have both been assimilated by lookalike/soundlike bands. The School of Geek Rock has been open for business for some time now. So, rather than anything drastic (like an 
inadvisable image overhaul), Weezer have zoomed in on their USP and upped the sarcastic wit – of which Cuomo has more than his fair share. This is how tracks get called, We Are All On Drugs. Musically, the trademark uncool hand-claps re-converge with buzz-saw guitars and breezy melodies to produce another raft of insidious tunes. Early doors, Perfect Situation nails the archetypal Weezer confessional lyric, marrying it to a winning singalong chorus; while This is Such a Pity offers more clipped, leaner riffing to equally catchy effect. Then there's The Other Way – an upbeat anthem to outsider-dom that could also mount Revenge of the Nerds on the Billboard Charts.
Is this a beliveable batch? Taken as a whole, this is a probably the band's most consistent set. Quality dips are few and far (discounting the odd ironic power ballad called Hold Me). But has Rivers' shambling dysfunction somehow become homegenised? The grumbles – which, paraphrased, accuse his dirty musical laundry of being over-ironed before going to press – persist. And, tellingly, many of them seem to be coming from Weezer's supposed fanbase. Like it or not, Cuomo had better believe it.
Critical Quibbling:
"A chunk of almost straight-faced love/self-doubt songs show that while these geeks may not inherit the earth, they can play their competitors at their own game" -- The Guardian
"Far from the unpredictable genius of old, it seems that Rivers Cuomo has returned lacking both edge and sparkle"-- New Musical Express
-- Published by In Residence, 2005