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Pacific Daydream

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Pacific Daydream
Studio album by
Weezer
ReleasedOctober 27, 2017
Recorded2016–2017
Genre
Length34:29
Label
Producer
Weezer chronology
Weezer
(2016) 		Pacific Daydream
(2017) 		Weezer
(2019)
Singles from Pacific Daydream
  1. "Feels Like Summer"
    Released: March 16, 2017
  2. "Happy Hour"
    Released: October 31, 2017

Pacific Daydream is the eleventh studio album by American rock band Weezer, released on October 27, 2017.[2] The album is their second release by Crush Management, is distributed by Atlantic Records, and is trademarked by a modern pop sound, differing from their previous work.[3] The lead single, "Feels Like Summer", was released on March 16, 2017.[4] The second single, "Happy Hour", was released on October 31.[5]

Background and recording

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In 2016, frontman Rivers Cuomo began filling a folder of songs intended for a darker project (provisionally titled The Black Album) but ultimately completed a second folder with songs that were of a different nature first, leading to the creation of Pacific Daydream.[6] In April, Cuomo teased the album, describing it as "Beach Boys gone bad", tackling "more mature topics" and "less summer day and more winter night".[7] As Cuomo began writing and recording, they found the songs to be more "like reveries from a beach at the end of the world [... as if] the Beach Boys and The Clash fell in love by the ocean and had one hell of an amazing baby".[8] The band ultimately pushed back plans for The Black Album and began focusing on the new collection of songs.[8] Guitarist Brian Bell later said "Whatever it's going to be called, it's going to be fucking awesome."[9] Inspired by an ancient Chinese proverb by Chuang Chou, Cuomo hoped to explore more "radical" sounds, a departure from the "classic" style of The White Album.[10][11] Cuomo's original title for the album was Somebody's Daydream, but he later explained that the band's drummer, Pat Wilson, thought "Pacific" was a more attractive alternative than "Somebody's", and ultimately the group settled on Pacific Daydream.[10]

To create the album, Cuomo utilized various musical and lyrical fragments he had collected over time. He kept an archive of song ideas and hired programmers to organize a spreadsheet of lyric snippets by beats per minute, syllable, and key to call from whenever stuck. "Instead of trying to force myself to feel inspired, I can just go into the spreadsheet and search [...] I just try them out to see which ones work magically."[12]

Writing and composition

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Songs

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Cuomo has described the album as having an overall theme of "alienation and loneliness and not feeling like I have a place to fit in", describing it as having a "darker, sadder undertone to it relative to" their previous album.[13] The album's opening track, "Mexican Fender", written by Cuomo and Toby Gad, was based on Cuomo's interactions with Katy Goodman, of the indie rock band La Sera.[14] Cuomo credited Jake Sinclair, the producer for The White Album, in assisting with the creation of the track.[13] "Beach Boys", an ode to the Beach Boys, was written specifically to sound "the least like [them]", and describes Cuomo's experiences of "being in downtown LA at night and being totally disoriented and alienated".[13] The song's bridge features quotes from Murry Wilson, the father of the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson.[13] The album's lead single, "Feels Like Summer", is an "EDM-infused" track about "the death of [Cuomo's] June bride", who's now "home with the angels." The track was written through a "cut-and-paste" style that Cuomo had adopted while writing for The White Album.[15][16] "Weekend Woman", the album's third promotional single, features an opening nod to The Zombies' "Time of the Season", as well as a verse melody previously used in a Green Album outtake, "Burning Sun".[15][17]

Music

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John Pareles of The New York Times called the album a "collection of pop-rock songs with old-fashioned verse-chorus-bridge structures",[18] while Derek Rossignol of Uproxx stated that, with Pacific Daydream, "the band has proven that they’re still capable purveyors of sunny and bright alternative rock".[19] Alex Hudson of Exclaim! stated that the album attempts to carry on the band's signature power pop style, while adding more electronic production.[20] Andrew Trendell of NME asserted that "'Pacific Daydream' is all carefree, expertly crafted pop, free of irony and all the better for it".[21]

Release and promotion

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On March 16, 2017, the band released the album's first single, "Feels Like Summer".[22] On August 17, the band unveiled the album art, title, and opening track, "Mexican Fender", as well as its accompanying music video.[23] Another promotional single, "Beach Boys", was released on September 14.[24] "Happy Hour" was the album's second official single, released on October 31, 2017.

Reception

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Commercial

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Pacific Daydream debuted at number 23 on the Billboard 200, which made it the lowest debut performance for a Weezer studio album since their 1994 debut. It is also the band's first album since 1996's Pinkerton to fail to debut in the top 10.[25]

Critical

[edit]
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?5.5/10[26]
Metacritic64/100[27]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[28]
Alternative Press[29]
The A.V. ClubC−[30]
Consequence of SoundB−[31]
The New Zealand Herald[32]
NME[21]
The Observer[33]
Pitchfork4.3/10[34]
Q[35]
Rolling Stone[36]

According to Metacritic, Pacific Daydream has received an aggregated score of 64/100, based on 21 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Jake Kilroy of Consequence of Sound describes it as "a strong album, but not a strong Weezer album", adding "But if you ever wanted to hear Weezer at their professionally sharpest, this is surely it. It's no surprise that Cuomo is a fan of pop smashes like Carly Rae Jepsen's 'Call Me Maybe', as Pacific Daydream might be more Train than Ozma...For the band to be at its full potential, though, the songwriter needs to reflect more on the takeaways of experiences rather than the moments themselves."[31] Andrew Trendell at NME opined that aging has not worn Weezer down, stating "Pacific Daydream is all carefree, expertly crafted pop, free of irony and all the better for it. Lock the doors, crack open a cold one, and enjoy an endless summer with Weezer."[21]

Saby Reyes-Kulkarni from Pitchfork was more critical of the album, noting "for the second album in a row, Cuomo anchors the music more specifically to California. Sure, that's worked for scores of artists in the past, but a crucial part of Weezer's appeal was that you could believe they came out of any garage on any tree-lined cul-de-sac in any suburban zip code in the U.S. Pacific Daydream, in spite of its name, mostly just gives you a feeling of being nowhere."[34]

Accolades

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The album received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Rock Album[37] at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards.

Track listing

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All tracks produced by Butch Walker except where noted.

No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Mexican Fender"
  • Walker
  • Gad
3:09
2."Beach Boys"Cuomo 3:51
3."Feels Like Summer"
3:15
4."Happy Hour"
  • Oh, Hush!
  • Walker
2:57
5."Weekend Woman"Cuomo 4:05
6."QB Blitz"Cuomo 3:17
7."Sweet Mary"
 3:42
8."Get Right"
 3:12
9."La Mancha Screwjob"
  • Cuomo
  • Alexander
 3:27
10."Any Friend of Diane's"Cuomo 3:34
Total length:34:29
Japanese bonus track
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
11."Feels Like Summer (Acoustic)"
  • Cuomo
  • Morrissey
  • Coffer
  • Rotem
  • Dahlquist
  • Goldberger
3:17

Track notes

  • ^[a] signifies a co-producer

Personnel

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Charts

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Chart (2017–18) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[39] 64
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[40] 93
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[41] 152
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[42] 41
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[43] 177
New Zealand Heatseeker Albums (RMNZ)[44] 1
Scottish Albums (OCC)[45] 37
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[46] 99
UK Albums (OCC)[47] 68
US Billboard 200[48] 23
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)[49] 3
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[50] 4

References

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  1. ^ Sodomsky, Sam (August 17, 2017). "Weezer Announce New Album Pacific Daydream, Share New Song "Mexican Fender": Listen". Pitchfork. Retrieved August 17, 2017.
  2. ^ Gaca, Anna (August 17, 2017). "Weezer's New Album Is Called Pacific Daydream, Out in October [UPDATE]". Spin. Eldridge Industries. Retrieved August 17, 2017.
  3. ^ "Pacific Daydream by Weezer". Apple Music. Retrieved August 27, 2017.
  4. ^ "Weezer – "Feels Like Summer" (Acoustic Version)". Spin. June 29, 2017. Retrieved August 17, 2017.
  5. ^ "Alternative Future Releases". All Access. Archived from the original on October 22, 2017.
  6. ^ Wood, Mikael (October 25, 2017). "Why Rivers Cuomo wanted to make 'the most different-sounding Weezer record ever'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 22, 2017.
  7. ^ "Weezer's next album could sound like 'Beach Boys gone bad'". NME. 2016-04-20. Retrieved 2016-10-20.
  8. ^ a b Havens, Lyndsey (August 17, 2017). "Weezer Announces New Album 'Pacific Daydream'". Billboard. Retrieved October 25, 2017.
  9. ^ McCausland, Doug (August 13, 2017). "Weezer Guitarist Reveals What He Learned From Chris Cornell's 'Shocking' Death". Alternative Nation. Retrieved August 19, 2017.
  10. ^ a b Shutler, Ali (August 17, 2017). "Weezer: Only in dreams". Upset. Retrieved October 25, 2017.
  11. ^ Blistein, Jon (August 17, 2017). "Weezer Preview New Album With Video About Seagull Love". Rolling Stone. Retrieved October 25, 2017.
  12. ^ Brown, Eric Renner (November 3, 2017). "How to Create a Weezer Album in 7 (Not-So-Easy) Steps". Entertainment Weekly. No. 1489. pp. 58–59.
  13. ^ a b c d "How Weezer Traded Power Chords For Pop: A Conversation With Rivers Cuomo". NPR.
  14. ^ "Rivers Cuomo Breaks Down The Inspiration Behind Weezer's New Song "Mexican Fender"". Genius.
  15. ^ a b Brown, Eric (27 October 2017). "How to create a Weezer album in 7 surprisingly methodical steps" – via www.ew.com.
  16. ^ Pareles, Jon (25 October 2017). "Weezer's Pop-Rock Defies a Hip-Hop World on 'Pacific Daydream'" – via www.nytimes.com.
  17. ^ Leight, Elias (October 5, 2017). "Hear Weezer's Uplifting New Pop-Rock Song, 'Weekend Woman'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved October 25, 2017.
  18. ^ Pareles, Jon (October 25, 2017). "Weezer's Pop-Rock Defies a Hip-Hop World on 'Pacific Daydream'". Retrieved October 26, 2017 – via www.nytimes.com.
  19. ^ "The Pulse: Stream This Week's Best New Albums From Weezer And More". 27 October 2017. Retrieved October 28, 2017.
  20. ^ "Weezer Pacific Daydream". Retrieved October 26, 2017.
  21. ^ a b c Trendell, Andrew (October 26, 2017). "Weezer – 'Pacific Daydream' Album Review". NME. Retrieved December 17, 2019. 'Pacific Daydream' is all carefree, expertly crafted pop, free of irony and all the better for it.
  22. ^ "Weezer - Feels Like Summer". YouTube. 15 March 2017. Retrieved 2017-03-16.
  23. ^ Connick, Tom (August 16, 2017). "Weezer's new album 'Pacific Daydream' is coming this year". NME.
  24. ^ Strauss, Matthew (September 14, 2017). "Weezer Share New "Beach Boys" Song: Listen". Pitchfork.
  25. ^ "Weezer Album & Song Chart History: Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
  26. ^ "Pacific Daydream by Weezer reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved October 5, 2019.
  27. ^ "Reviews and Tracks for Pacific Daydream by Weezer". Metacritic. Retrieved October 26, 2017.
  28. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Pacific Daydream – Weezer". AllMusic. Retrieved October 27, 2017.
  29. ^ Lucy, Evan (October 27, 2017). "Weezer: Pacific Daydream". Alternative Press. Archived from the original on December 3, 2017. Retrieved June 9, 2018.
  30. ^ Ihnat, Gwen (October 27, 2017). "Weezer, Pacific Daydream". The A.V. Club. Retrieved October 27, 2017.
  31. ^ a b Kilroy, Jake (October 24, 2017). "Weezer – Pacific Daydream". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved October 26, 2017.
  32. ^ Schulz, Chris (November 2, 2017). "Review: On Pacific Daydream, Weezer are ready to have some summer fun". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved October 5, 2019.
  33. ^ Mongredien, Phil (October 29, 2017). "Weezer: Pacific Daydream review – the shiny and the anodyne". The Observer. Retrieved June 9, 2018.
  34. ^ a b Reyes-Kulkarni, Saby (October 26, 2017). "Weezer: Pacific Daydream". Pitchfork. Retrieved October 26, 2017.
  35. ^ Everley, Dave (November 2017). "Sunny Side Up". Q (378): 114.
  36. ^ Grow, Kory (October 27, 2017). "Review: Weezer Plays More Songs About Nerd Stuff and Rock Bands". Rolling Stone. Retrieved October 27, 2017.
  37. ^ "2019 Grammy Nominations". Billboard. December 7, 2018. Retrieved December 7, 2018.
  38. ^ Pacific Daydream (booklet). Atlantic, Crush. 2017.
  39. ^ "ARIA Chart Watch #445". auspOp. November 4, 2017. Archived from the original on October 28, 2020. Retrieved November 4, 2017.
  40. ^ "Ultratop.be – Weezer – Pacific Daydream" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 4, 2017.
  41. ^ "Ultratop.be – Weezer – Pacific Daydream" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 4, 2017.
  42. ^ "Weezer Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 6, 2017.
  43. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Weezer – Pacific Daydream" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 4, 2017.
  44. ^ "NZ Heatseeker Albums Chart". Recorded Music NZ. February 12, 2018. Retrieved February 9, 2018.
  45. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 4, 2017.
  46. ^ "Spanishcharts.com – Weezer – Pacific Daydream". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 9, 2017.
  47. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 4, 2017.
  48. ^ "Weezer Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
  49. ^ "Weezer Chart History (Top Alternative Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
  50. ^ "Weezer Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
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