By Mina Wiebe

I’m not usually a huge fan of pop songs brimming with “do-do-do-do” fillers, but for Weezer I’ll make an exception.  Their new 2019 “Black Album” has faced some pretty harsh critiques so far, and despite loving the band, I’ll admit I’m not particularly amazed by the album as a whole. I wanted to love it, but instead I decided to go with my gut and give the band a break since they’ve managed to push out an impressive thirteen albums. And “Black Album” does have good moments; for me, the album’s hidden gem is the fourth track: “Piece of Cake”.

The light, cheery title pairs with the song’s opening outpour of “do-do-do-do’s” to make you think you’re about to hear another upbeat Weezer tune. But in typical Weezer fashion, don’t be fooled by first impressions. Suddenly the opening lyrics pop up and your hear Rivers Cuomo’s tenor vocals declare “Let’s do hard drugs/ Fix our problems/Let me swing by/Tears in my eyes” leading in to the song’s hook: “She cut me like a piece of cake”. So yeah, not the sweetness you’re expecting.

Lyrically, the song is pretty simple, but I couldn’t help but enjoy the cynical wittiness of some of the lines. Near the end of the song for example, the lyrics “Hey man, cheer up/Make your own luck/Have a nice life/Have some more Sprite” made me absolutely giddy because if you’ve ever been sad, there’s always that one asshole who tells you to just “stop being sad”, and here he sounds exactly like that asshole. I could hear the sarcasm dripping off of Cuomo’s tongue in this line, and I appreciated the subtle yet brilliant self-awareness that I’ve come to expect from the band.

So no, “Black Album” wasn’t a win for me, but I guess you could say that “Piece of Cake” definitely…takes the cake (should I hold for applause, or let myself out?). But in all seriousness, it’s worth giving the album a listen to form your own opinions, and I really think that “Piece of Cake” in all of its bleak, sarcastic glory wins my vote for best track of the album.