According to a post on the band’s official website, Weezer are very close to finishing album number five. The new news is that the as-yet-still-untitled affair will apparently feature material recorded as far back as 2003 during the previously scrapped sessions with famed producer Rick Rubin. Rubin was initially on board to produce the entire disc, but after frontman Rivers Cuomo decided to return to Harvard University, Rubin was dismissed as producer, although he retained „mentor“ status, which we think just means they sent him out for coffee and donuts. After getting together with Rubin for some „heavy listening sessions,“ the band has the final tracklist „97% settled“ (though they’re not telling what it is), with the album’s first single, „Beverly Hills“, hopefully hitting radio in March, and the album following in May. According to the post, Rivers, who has just completed his latest semester at Harvard, needs to finish up a few vocal tracks, and then, barring any spiritual revelations, the album will be ready for mixing. If Rivers does, in fact, have some sort of spiritual revelation, then fans can expect the album to be delayed while he writes 10 or 12 new songs that don’t sound all that different than the ones they already recorded. Is that speculation? Let’s call it „educated conjecture.“
In considerably less ambiguous news, the band has scheduled its first live appearance since 2002– as previously announced, Weezer will appear at the 2005 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. The band is scheduled to perform alongside Wilco, Coldplay, the Chemical Brothers, Secret Machines, M83, and a smattering of other artists on April 30, the Indio, California event’s opening night. A full tour of the U.S. and Europe is also being planned post-album release, but of course there’s nothing solid just yet.
Quelle: Pitchfork
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