Alone, Vol. 2 - The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo

While Weezer present Rivers Cuomo’s songs in tight, concise, well-produced versions that illustrate his knack for pop and crunchy guitar hooks, Cuomo’s solo work is altogether another glimpse. On these “home recordings,” Rivers is often loose, relaxed, less compelled to drive the hook home and likely to wander off into experimental areas where compositional ideas are explored and lessons learned. “Walt Disney” reflects his band’s straight-forward pop, but “I Admire You So Much” is a quick rudimentary recording that should excite fans who yearn to peek behind the curtain and hear their hero at his most unguarded. “The Prettiest Girl In the Whole Wide World” is pure romantic sweetness. His cover of the Beach Boys’ “Don’t Worry Baby” captures Cuomo’s affinity for Brian Wilson’s deceptively simple, harmonically complex songwriting abilities. The simple aching piano ballad “My Day Is Coming” proves Cuomo doesn’t need any grand production styles for his ideas to reach creative fruition, though professional polish does help get him on the radio.