Weezer

Hurley (Epitaph)

By Melissa Bobbitt
Published: September 21st, 2010 | 1:00pm

“People love to tell us what to do / That's just 'cause they're jealous of me and you,” Rivers Cuomo rattles in the surging "Trainwrecks." Now on to his eighth Weezer album, he may be right. His band started as a venue for the nerdy singer's self-effacement, penning two classic '90s albums that many have put on pedestals. After more than a decade of teetering on the brink of implosion and hatching a few notable post-millennial releases, Cuomo and his troupe found peace. Goodbye, emo curmudgeon; hello, amiable family man.

And goodbye, credibility. At least, that's what disillusioned fans shout. Their sweater-laden lord gets married and has a kid, and suddenly, the audience can't relate. For three years now, Weezer has assaulted us with wonky pop that refuses to take itself seriously. OK, 2008's The Red Album (Geffen) was an unmitigated disaster. However, last year's Raditude got a bad rap—listen to it again, and one will find a collection of unabashed earworms, dorky as they may be.

Now, we're graced with Hurley, their first album for Epitaph and the missing link between 2002's heavy Maladroit and the childish fun of Raditude. Like its TV namesake and cover boy, Hugo "Hurley" Reyes, these tunes are a bit Lost. There are time-travel elements (the Blue Album-esque chorus of "Smart Girls," the flashback lyrics of "Memories") and terrifically smoky monsters ("Trainwrecks"), but there’s disjointedness, too. "Run Away," co-written by Ryan Adams, feels like a damp demo from Cuomo's Alone compilations, and "Where's My Sex?" may be the band’s dopiest song (the group claims it's actually about missing socks).

Still, Hurley provides an opportunity for critics to drop the argument that as Weezer ages, they become more ridiculous and irreverent. Does no one remember that one of their early hits began, "What's with these homies dissing my girl?" It's time to consolidate Cuomo's catalog and accept it all for what it is: brilliantly pensive party music.

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