Weezer - Ok Human

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YES! YES! YES! (one for every disappointing album)... "OK HUMAN", the new album from a legendary band I've never heard of (lol) - WEEZER, is surprisingly good, especially considering the previous slips.

I swear, I tried really hard not to like this and not to embrace the hype on first listening (too claustrophobic, too many references, not enough emotion, too much this, too much that), but the truth is that most of the LP ended up growing on me. (it started as just decent)

Please Weezer, Hold on to Jake Sinclair! Jake Sinclair is by far your best current producer, even though he only produced the extraordinary White Album. In 2016, Jake Sinclair took everything fans love about 90's Weezer and such virtues for a beach album. In "Ok Human" he completely reinvents Weezer through a more baroque/classical approach (piano, violins). And the most surprising thing is that it works, this LP doesn't have a single distorted guitar and is one of the best in Weezer's catalog - how is that possible? (are those the same band members playing the instruments???)

"Ok Human" has a lot of virtues. Jake Sinclair's production, while appearing claustrophobic and overly polished on first listening, quickly evolves into something that is the ideal balance between baroque instrumentation and the band's typical structures. When you're more familiar with the work, you realize the places/interludes where you're supposed to breathe ("Mirror Image", "Everything Happens For A Reason") (. Not to mention the near-perfect transitions between tracks that give "OK Human" an enviable urgency/impetus, especially in the early tracks. Although not an instant classic, "OK Human" is instantly memorable. The choruses are extraordinary and I dare say they work every time, which will keep the songs in your head all week. I would go to bed and out of the blue start playing them mentally. 

 In terms of writing, Rivers Cuomo finally reminds fans once again why he is considered one of the best songwriters in the music industry: the lyrics are boyish and relatable, the rhymes are subtle and natural, the structures are relatively complex but catchy, most of the time. Bird With A Broken Wing" and "La Bear Tar Pits" can easily be interpreted as reviews of the weezer discography. Among other exciting details and references.

The instrumentation makes everything epic and groovy at the same time.

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