A Couple of Singles

On May 10, two of my favorite bands will release new albums. Dave Matthews Band, following a couple of its members' disappointing solo efforts, reunites on the long-awaited Stand Up, while Weezer, the one-time kings of geek rock, unveils Make Believe. Currently in rotation on radio are the debut singles from each of these upcoming LPs--DMB's "American Baby" and "Beverly Hills" from the Weez. Click the links above to hear a (legal) audio stream of each.

Ever since they became a mainstay on top 40 stations, there have essentially existed two versions of the Dave Matthews Band. The original version, the jam-loving concert performists who marched ants through Charlottesville in the early 90s, is currently funded by a second incarnation, a band ensuring its appearance on teenage girls' bedroom walls by virtue of slickly produced four-minute radio hits. It is the latter that brings us "American Baby," but not at the total expense of selling out fans of the former. Whereas DMB's pop sensibilities cannibalized the travesty that was 2001's Everyday, this doesn't look to be the case on the new album, if Baby is any indication. With a prominent display of Boyd Tinsley's violin and Leroi Moore's sax, the song actually sounds like DMB, even if its lyrics and musical structure are largely simplified. "American Baby" is a love song to the United States, a refreshing sentiment from a band who clearly couldn't have been happy with the results of last November's election.

I wish I could find a sliver of such tolerability in Weezer's "Beverly Hills," the latest generic package off the uninspired rock assembly line. With each album released since the epic Pinkerton (or, as I like to refer to it, the greatest album that ever has or ever will be created by man), it seems that Rivers Cuomo and company have drifted further away from their trademark creativity in music or in lyric. "Beverly Hills" represents the lowest point to date in this de-evolution, and it's hard to imagine that the pattern could descend much deeper. The song sounds like something from the latter day Everclear catalogue, landing firmly on the dark side of the catchy/annoying divide. Though my loyalties to the band will probably win out in the end, right now I'm questioning whether I should even buy the upcoming album. Weezer, you might as well take off your glasses and frost your hair if this is where your music is headed.