Ultimate Fakebook follows up its totally awesome 2002 album
Open Up and Say Awesome with this seven-song EP. In the packaging that comes with
Before We Spark, their record company, Initial, states that the record "finds the band exploring the darker side of their power pop sound." Up until this point, the band had firmly positioned itself as
Weezer's smart-aleck kid brother, with a sound that harked back to the classic days of power pop, lots of crunchy guitars, soaring vocal harmonies, and funny songs. Sure enough, the first track, "Rotting on the Vine," is darker than their usual offerings. The lyrics are bitter, the guitars snarling, and the melody pretty much nonexistent.
The Foo Fighters spring to mind as an influence on this track and the fairly gloomy "We'll Go Dancin'."
Ultimate Fakebook didn't really need to get heavier; it didn't need to change at all because it was a great band. The lightest track (and therefore the most reminiscent of the group's previous records) is "Record Release Party," which manages to conjure up images of
Cheap Trick,
ELO,
REO Speedwagon, and, of course,
Weezer (at its most pop), all on one track. It is
Ultimate Fakebook at its best: funny and catchy as ringworm, with vocalist
Bill McShane sounding snarky and totally sincere at the same time -- which is quite a feat. The other three tracks on the EP are throwaways. "The Cobra" is a 20-second instrumental and "Slick's Theme" is an annoying and repetitive instrumental. The disc ends with an electro-pop remix of one of the highlights of
Open Up and Say Awesome, "Inside Me, Inside You." The remix is not terribly interesting and comes across as a noble failure. The disc also has an enhanced portion that includes videos for "Inside Me, Inside You" and "When I'm With You, I'm OK," as well as two more remixes of "Inside Me, Inside You."
Before We Spark is hopefully just a bump in the road, and
Ultimate Fakebook will get back to being lightweight and wonderful on its next release. ~ Tim Sendra