Rivers Cuomo

Known for baring all in his work, Weezer front-man Rivers Cuomo presents a raw collection of unreleased, uneven music written over the past 20 years. The "warts and all” abandon signifies Cuomo’s desire to clean out his closet for the benefit of long-time fans, and critical reception was obviously an afterthought. Consisting of demos, partially realised song ideas and annotated notes about each track, the strongest aspect of Alone is its revelations about Cuomo’s working methods and his attempts to sustain an aura of intimacy with his audience. With its screeching vocals and amateur production, the awkward 1992 home recording "The World We Love So Much” is almost painful. A Beasties-influenced cover of Ice Cube’s "The Bomb” is interesting but by 1993’s "Lemonade” and a darker "Buddy Holly,” Weezer’s sound emerges. The bizarre musical Songs from the Black Hole was wisely shelved but it’s the first inkling of the alienation explored so well on 1996’s Pinkerton. Brighter stuff includes an impromptu 2003 jam with Sloan in California, where Rick Rubin suggested they cover "Little Diane.” By and large though, Alone is fragile, starkly open and in keeping with Rivers Cuomo’s persona over the last decade.