Weezer - Maladroit

Dunt-Duh-Da-Dunt-Duh-Da-Da Dunt-Duh-Da-Dunt-Duh . . .

You have a sneaking suspicion that a lot of Weezer’s new album was written on air guitar. Ever since you starting hearing Rivers Cuomo saying Weezer was going to bring back heavy metal you‘ve been hoping he was kidding. He was . . . sort of.

While they manage to lift more than their share of cheesy, arena-friendly power chord rock riffs from the likes of Cheap Trick, Kiss, Thin Lizzy, and Ted Nugent during the 33 minutes that is Maladroit, Cuomo’s idiosyncratic vocal style and sophisticated-pop-geek-songwriter sensibilities keep you from taking their heavy metal thunder pose too seriously. Doubtless they’ve spent plenty of time listening to Kiss Alive and Cheap Trick Live at Budokan, but born to be wild these guys were not.

That being said, Maladroit seems a logical extension of their last record, you suppose. The new songs are actually quite similar to the batch offered on the last album. They’re a little louder, a little less sugary, and a little shorter (only one song on Maladroit is over three minutes), but otherwise sound as if they might have been produced during the same recording sessions.

“Dope Nose,” the album’s first single, is one of Weezer’s greatest songs, and also one of the most blatant Cheap Trick rip-offs you’ve heard in a long time, but then again it’s ubër-catchy, and for what more can you ask from a Weezer song? Stealing Robin Zander's mojo(and Rick Neilson's, too) seems to agree with Cuomo. You’re sure it will sound great at Budokan. “Burndt Jam” has the best pop melody hook of any song on the album, a melody they proceed to slap in silly with a bunch of histrionic guitar solo wanking. “Slave” is another classic Weezer bubblegum nugget amped up on 70’s arena rock.

Having now released new albums in consecutive years for the first time since starting their recording careers back in 1994, it now appears that Weezer has committed themselves to being a full time pop band. Whether or not this is really a good thing is hard to say. It does mean it’s not very likely they’ll record another album like Pinkerton any time soon.

Cuomo seems capable of writing songs like the ones found on Maladroit and the Green Album effortlessly and at will. Although sales have been strong internationally, American sales of Maladroit so far have been somewhat disappointing. According to the Weezer's website (www.weezer.com), the album opened at #3, but then dropped all the way to #16 by the following week. How long can albums of quicky, quirky, under-three-minute pop songs sustain an audience? You’ll just have to wait and see.

Matt Parks (June 2, 2002)