Rivers Cuomo hints at Weezer UK gig and says new album helps keep the format alive
Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo has said that new album ‘Everything Will Be Alright In The End’ shows the band shunning the idea that the album is a dying format as the popularity of playlists and singles increases.
The band recently revealed new song ‘Back To The Shack’ and will release the album on September 29. It is the US group’s first since ‘Hurley’ in 2010.
Speaking to Zane Lowe on BBC Radio 1 on Monday (July 21), Cuomo spoke about how Weezer are rejecting current trends with ‘Everything Will Be Alright In The End’.
“I think there are a few ways of adjusting to the new world where people don’t listen to albums anymore – they listen to playlists or just buy singles – and maybe we’ve tried to evolve with the time, but you know that’s not who we are, so ultimately this time we’re going all in again and we’re going to make a great rock album like the good old days and put everything we have into it,” he said. “Maybe no one will appreciate it that way but we think that it’s what our core fans really want from us and that’s what we’re best at.”
Cuomo also hinted at a collaboration with a “famous rock star” on the album but refused to name names. He was, however, more forthcoming about live dates and suggested that a UK show in London will be confirmed “any day now.”
After that will come a series of US dates where Weezer will play ‘Everything Will Be Alright In The End’ in full to select audiences. “We’re most excited to do a run of small shows later this year, where we’re playing the new album front to back and, I don’t know, 500 to maybe 1,500 fans can get in,” said Cuomo. “So it’s really the people who really wanna hear this new album, they know it front and back, and they’re ready to participate and sing along, and it’s gonna be such a new fresh experience for us – I can’t wait.”
Weezer’s new album was produced by Ric Ocasek of The Cars, who also produced their ‘Blue Album’ in 1994 and ‘Green Album’ in 2001. In keeping with Cuomo’s comments, drummer Pat Wilson recently described the album as a mix between ‘Blue Album’ and the band’s 1996 follow-up, ‘Pinkerton’.