Weezer’s new album won’t hit top forties

Weezer has done it again; their album, Hurley, is an okay album. It’s not classic Weezer-the pop is left out and it’s the most rock and roll the band can achieve. The lyrics have less of a message than usual for the band, but what can you expect from a band that hasn’t had a hit in years? The songs are good, but unlike the band members, the tracks won’t be hitting the top forties.

The album was released on Sept. 13 and is the follow-up of the last three debuts of Weezer that have been more than disappointing to fans and critics alike. Rivers Cuomos’ vocals and the more-than-good music may be just what the aging band needs to save their credit.

The band has abandoned their attempts at staying “hip” and has returned to it’s geeky glory. The sound effects and overdone editing that are found on the recent albums of other artists are not found on Hurley. The album is strictly Cuomo’s vocalizing and the rock rhythms of the instrumentals.

Overall, the beats and rhythms are better than the actual lyrics. Patrick Wilson (drums), Brian Bell (guitar), and Scott Shriner (bass), deserve the credit for making the album what it is. If you find yourself listening to lyrics you’ve heard before, the background music will keep you listening.

On track one, “Memories,” Cuomo attempts to scream the lyrics. Let’s just say that an almost forty-year-old man should not try to replicate the vocals of his much younger counterparts; he just ends up sounding like a whiny try-hard.

While not all the songs are good, almost half of them are. This is what saves the album from being like the bands previous albums and being torn apart by fans and critics. Hurley is worth buying, but not the whole album. If you do want it, use iTunes and buy only the hits and not the tracks such as “Time Flies,” which just brings the album down.