The View From The Back

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Last week, Royal Blood took to the famous BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge to lay down an original song, and, as is customary, a cover song. Most of the time, bands make the effort to take either a recent chart hit or widely recognised song, and turn it in to something which has their signature on it. Royal Blood have not disappointed in this department, tackling Pharrell Williams' mega hit 'Happy'.

The song is almost indistinguishable from the original, Mike Kerr's instantly recognisable bass coming through thick and fat. Ben Thatcher follows Kerr's lead, tinkling on the hi hats before rattling the floorboards with his Gretsch Renown kit.

Business as usual for Noel and his avian band mates

While Beady Eye have ceased to be in the last few weeks, Noel Gallagher has returned with his High Flying Birds, showcasing the first single from their sophomore effort Chasing Yesterday.

'In The Heat Of The Moment' is the track in question, and it's more of the same, which is no bad thing. Building on the style established on 2011's self title debut, the track has all the key ingredients for a crowd pleaser: A thumping back beat, a hook to move your feet to and a sing along chant ready to be belted out by a sea of fans.

It would appear that Jeremy Stacey is behind the pots again, and this new offering takes it’s cues from ‘AKA… What A Life!’. Keeping things simple with minimal fills, the beat drives the song, ploughing through like a freight train. Stacey fills the space with just washy hats, sharp snare hits and a fat bass, with the occasional thunderous build on the toms to bring in the chorus.

The Verdict:

While Noel et al haven’t broken new ground here, sticking to what they know worked first time round, they’ve brought out something to whet the fans’ appetite for next years album.

They might just be right

It's been out a little while now, and since I picked it up two weeks ago, I've had Everything Will Be Alright In The End on repeat. Now although I'm a Weezer fan, I'll try to be as impartial with this as I can, but first things first: I LOVE this album. 

The last few outings from Weezer have seen them deviate from the DIY, rough around the edges sound of the Blue album and Pinkerton, and through this they have alienated their fans somewhat. There have been some catchy tunes thrown in there, but I don't need an excuse to never listen to 'I can't stop partying' again. With this is mind, I was cautious with EWBAITE, but optimistic after the promise that Hurley showed. Right from the off, 'Ain't Got Nobody' feels fresh, but at the same time familiar. The guitars are chunky, the drums are fat and Rivers sounds like he's back in the garage. It's simple, punchy rock music, in the same vain as their earlier work, but there is a more grown up feel to the vocals.

The opening trio of 'Ain't Got Nobody', 'Back To The Shack' and 'Eulogy For A Rock Band' are self referential, as if Rivers is reaching out to the fans for acceptance. With an opening like that, you'd be hard pushed not to give them what they want. From here the album stays on trend, that being radio friendly rock with a lyrical edge. 'Lonely Girl' sounds almost like a sequel to 'Across The Sea', whereas songs like 'Cleopatra' and 'Foolish Father' are reminiscent of the darker sound Weezer showed us on Maladroit. Also worth noting is the well balanced duet of 'Go Away', the female vocalist's voice standing up well to Rivers' falsetto and complementing it rather than competing with it. Safe to say, it's better than hearing Lil' Wayne on a Weezer song.

The closing statement, a three part epic, is pitched perfectly, and rounds off a solid album. If there is a criticism to make about ending the album this way, it's that the three songs, while they work together, may not stand up to scrutiny when examined individually. 'II. Anonymous' is the strongest of the three, however these three songs, and album as a whole, are best listened to in one sitting.

Pat Wilson sounds as good as he ever did on EWBAITE, without a hint of a drum machine or sampled sound cluttering up the tracks. He keeps up with the interesting time signature on 'Cleopatra' and his beat keeps the song flowing, while on 'I've Had It Up To Here' Pat brings some serious groove to the proceedings.

The Verdict

Everyone and their cousin seems to have a view on Weezer these days, and it's not easy to forgive them after the super polished, squeaky clean sound of Raditude. However, with EWBAITE, Weezer have come back strong, with an emphasis on self referential lyrics and punchy rock, which, it can be argued, is what they do best. While this album doesn't quite hit the heights of The Blue Album or Pinkerton, it shouldn't need to. Those albums are almost 20 years old, and things have moved on. Yes, there have been some rough times lately for Weezer fans, but this album is a revelation, and sees them back on top form.

This is a rejuvenated Weezer, looking to the future, but with one eye firmly on their roots.

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