Thank God for Weezer. They will never be a band who philosophize, offer their musings on the purpose of existence or even give much of a political stance in the state of world affairs. But what they will do is give you a laugh and a catchy song about the life of a young nerd in America. And they’re blooming good at it.
The pioneers of geek rock, Rivers Cuomo and Co. have always been about hook-heavy melodies that are light-hearted and pure fun to listen to, and ‘Hurley’ is pretty much that. Just from the choice of lovably innocent ‘Lost’ character Hugo ‘Hurley’ Reyes as the album artwork shows that this record isn’t that serious. It’s just about what Weezer have always been about: the life of a Californian nerd, and it's very hard to find faults with it.
Lead single and first track ‘Memories’ is a retrospective catchy sing-a-long, with Cuomo reminiscing about the band’s early experiences and a touchingly anthemic ‘how can we make it back there?’. Quite an honest message, and there are more hidden in the pleasing guitar pop riffs. ‘Unspoken’ contains one of the angriest ever Cuomo lyrics about a chance being taken away, while the deceptively solemn ‘Run Away’ shows a thoughtful reluctance to an inevitable change much like the more optimistic ‘Brave New World’.
‘Hang On’ is a well-dressed reassurance to a dear friend, while the lo-fi country-esque album ender ‘Time Flies’ shows Cuomo at his most sensitive; and wistfully looking back – ‘time flies when you’re having fun’. They may be set to a back-drop of instantly-recognisable alternative guitar tunes, but they speak the fiercly loyal fan base that the LA foursome have built up.
It’s not all looking back and moving on though; ‘Ruling Me’ and ‘Smart Girls’ are upbeat indie rock toe-tappers and are immediately pleasing, while ‘Trainwrecks’ is a marauding rebellious tale of juvenile laziness. But the ultimately fun and faultlessly ridiculous ‘Where’s My Sex?’ sees Weezer at their brilliant best. The heavy yet immediatley lovable pop-punk track is recognisable instantly with the band, and Cuomo is now a personal hero for getting the lines ‘gosh dang’ and ‘prehistoric screwball’ into a song.
It was never going to be a shining beacon of musical brilliance and variety has never been Cuomo’s thing, but it will draw critical and commercial praise and is a fun album from a very talented band. From the front cover, to the fact the stars of Jackass sang backing vocals to ‘Memories’ and comedy actor Michael Cera did the same on ‘Hang On’, it’s all about being immature and although it's not their best work, it is a fitting advert for who Weezer are. For die-hard fans, it’s another first-class record for the collection. For others, it will hopefully make them go look back at Weezer’s previous exceptional work. And compared to some of the music out at the moment, what a welcome break this is.
Well worth a listen, and here's the video for lead single 'Memories' with the cast from Jackass here. This just about sums them up. Brilliant.
NWR
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