15 Greatest Emo Albums Of All Time

The Weezer of the 21st century would be downright frightened of the band who made Pinkerton in 1996. Far from the milquetoast power pop act relying on novelty covers for relevance, Weezer were once a band capable of making an album so drenched in self-loathing bile and oversharing as to be genuinely uncomfortable.

Weezer’s Rivers Cuomo does not present himself in a positive light over Pinkerton, listing and dismissing the various women he’s sleeping with (“Tired Of Sex”), fantasising about young Japanese fans (“Across The Sea”) and finally breaking down altogether (“Falling For You”).

The frontman admits he was in a dark place at the time, and has found the album difficult to listen to in retrospect. The album would be a grubby chore were it not so perfectly put together, boasting hooks and choruses as sharp as those on their self-titled debut, but with a far more substantive and darker edge.

Now an established classic, the critical revulsion shown towards Pinkerton on its release all but guaranteed that Weezer would never make anything so daring again. Perhaps one day Rivers and co will descend into the darkness once more.