It’s been 22 years since Weezer’s Blue Album hit the shelves, and Pinkerton is turning 20 in just five months. Thankfully, the geeky rockers of Weezer show no sign of fading with their White Album (which was released on April 1st). Produced by Jake Sinclair in an effort to retain the band’s 90s glory, The White Album is fresh with classic Weezer and fittingly relevant lyrics – courtesy of frontman Rivers Cuomo. Even though there’s a slight tinge of mundane alt pop in the album, the majority of The White Album is astonishingly similar to Pinkerton in the best way possible.

The first two tracks “California Girls” and “Wind in Our Sail” flow together nicely in a delicate crunch, something that few bands other than Weezer can achieve. The tasteful additions at the beginning of both songs (a la “Pink Triangle, from Pinkerton) compliment the vibrant, energizing tone of both tracks – not to mention “Wind in Our Sail” has an incredible beat. “Thank God for Girls” is a solid pop track, with laughably specific lyrics and quite an explosive hook. And if it weren’t for Cuomo’s lyrics, “Thank God for Girls” would otherwise be just a mediocre pop track that receives excessive airplay. Following that is “(Girl We Got A) Good Thing,” a similarly poppy song marked with additional instrumentation (jingling and jangling throughout), Cuomo’s vocals, and the wonderful guitar job. Because of those, “(Girl We Got A) Good Thing” is definitely one of the album’s gems. Right after that is another personal chunk from Cuomo’s personal life: “Do You Wanna Get High?”, a chugging track fit with feedback and the guitar part in the middle coupled with painfully retrospective lyrics of Cuomo’s former drug addiction.

The latter half of the album starts off with “King of the World,” which somewhat masks its lyrics regarding Cuomo’s Japanese wife with Weezer harmonies and aggressive instrumentation. “Summer Elaine and Drunk Dori” and “L.A. Girlz” go together well; both with similar subject matter but uniquely spectacular guitar parts. Closing the album is “Jacked Up” and “Endless Bummer.” Both express pain; one more aggressively, and the other more softly. The endless piano part of “Jacked Up” and acoustic guitar on “Endless Bummer” perfectly juxtapose each other, right before one last hoorah of electric guitars and pounding drums which gradually fades into the calm sounds of the shore.

Now as a longtime fan of Weezer, my opinion is a bit swayed because The White Album, like their previous album Everything Will Be Alright in the End, is so different from most of their 21st century catalog. So, from my best objective point of view, there’s a lot to love in The White Album. There’s enough pop and alt for any fan of either genre, and any fan of Weezer will recognize the beauty of the past infused with this modern record. My only warning would be that if you aren’t one for geeky lyrics that at times may be cheesy, Weezer’s stuff might not be for you. Otherwise, check this album out.