Pinkerton Imitators Constantly Missing The Point

Pinkerton is one of those albums that despite its brilliance, it only influenced bad music. Groups like Yellowcard, Taking Back Sunday, and Dashboard Confessional have all cited the album as a major influence on their work. It makes sense - the unbridled emotion of the album is all of these bands' calling cards. Still, there is something in Weezer's mistreated masterpiece that these groups always fail to grasp. First off, the musicianship and production is top notch. Rivers Cuomo and Brian Belle's guitars cut through the sound like a buzzsaw, while being able to quickly jump into melodic noodling without missing a beat. Matt Sharp's finesse is all over the album - his basswork welds tightly to Patrick Wilson's heavy drums that Dave Friddman's engineering magnifies to an earbruising level.

None of these fan bands capture this dynamic, let alone the brilliant songs. Rife with clever lyrics and earworm melodies, Pinkerton pounds along like a band that knows how good they are. The songs sound broken in, but not overplayed. Despite the pain of the content, the group also sounds like they're having fun, never taking themselves too seriously. It's a type of record that despite the legions that now love it, will never see a counterpart, which is good in a way - this way, nothing will ever take anything away from it.