Weezer
Hurley
Epitaph Records
The Weezer from The Blue Album is back. With their latest, Hurley, (and first on the punk label Epitaph) the quintessential indie-geek group shouts their way into the good graces of their fans and proves why they were so revered to begin with.
The first single “Memories” opens with a quick tempo and anthemic chorus that will no doubt have concertgoers screaming in unison. It reminds me a lot of “Hash Pipe” from The Green Album. “Ruling Me” keeps the energy flowing and “Trainwrecks” has lead singer Rivers Cuomo at his most impassioned, especially when he sings “We’re still kickin’ ass/ We are trainwrecks.”
A lot of Weezer fans (that I have talked to throughout the years) had become disenchanted with the band as they released album after album of less-than-stellar music. The Red Album, Make Believe, and even The Green Album had many a fan clamoring for The Blue Album’s version of Weezer or even the heart-on-sleeve Pinkerton version.
This is the Weezer everybody has been wanting. “Unspoken” is classic Pinkerton-era with the line “Our hate will be unspoken” repeated with an understated violence. “Where’s My Sex?” has all the quirky appeal of “Hash Pipe” or “Undone–The Sweater Song.”
Weezer has officially come full circle. They started as a quirky indie-rock band, made the perfect emo album, fell off the face of the earth, came back with a resurgent second self-titled album, became rather corporate-sounding, realized what made fans adore them in the first place, and now have come back with their best album since (maybe) The Green Album. I now have a renewed infatuation with Weezer. Thank you Rivers and Company for remembering why your fans love you. Every Weezer fan (disenchanted or not) needs this audio therapy.
Weezer: http://www.weezer.com
