So this is delayed but if I cared I wouldn’t be writing right now. So I finally got around to listening to Weezer’s new (red) album. And though it may be better than their last album ‘Make Believe,’ which served better as a beer coaster then something to listen to, that isn’t saying much. Thankfully it’s the influence from the highly talented OTHER band members that save this one.

A stand alone track that is Semi-epic-electro-balladish is “Thought I Knew,” which features Guitarist Brian Bell on lead vocals who is apparently sorry about many things, but he also thought he knew things as well. This song, which is totally out of the Weezer mold of the past (verse chorus verse bridge verse) is.. well really what it is, is a song that doesn’t sound like Weezer at all and apparently Bell is reworking it for his latest solo project The Relationship.

“Cold Dark World” sung by bassist Scott Shriner is wild on its own with its semi rapping verse (maybe influenced by his time in Vanilla Ice’s backing band..ha ha.. seriously) With lines like “if you need love I’ll be here to sex you” and Rivers Cuomo singing some of his well known “whoa oh ohhh”‘s in the back this song is stuck in my head. I used to hate this guy because it seems all of Weezer’s albums have sucked since Shriner joined on the album Maladroit but between this song and UK deluxe track “King” I have to admit this robot is mad talented. I can’t blame him.. i’m sorry Scott.

“Automatic” is a great, more upbeat track featuring Drummer Pat Wilson on Vocals, reminding me that I miss The Special Goodness which was Wilson’s side project with Atom Willard (Drummer from The Offspring and the homeless-man-fecal-matter-smoothie-surprise also known as Angels and Airwaves…tom delonge is a Prick) anyway it’s a nice song apparently about him loving his family which is a very very nice thing.

So to start wrapping this up .. Rivers Cuomo has made some great songs.. and even some of the songs sung by the other members were written by him. Unfortunately, songs like “Troublemaker” and “Everybody Get Dangerously” and the “Greatest Man Who Ever Lived” sound catchy but at a closer listen, the lyrics are as lame as their previously released track “Slob” with a mostly ABABAB rhyme scheme, amounting to nothing more than some decent background music suitable at a bar when no one’s really listening anyway… if that much. But check out “Heartsong” with a theme of Cuomo looking back on his progress and sounding like a song off Pinkerton. Not only is this song meaningful but he references the first time someone laid a Nirvana album on him. And therefore, in the end (unlike Korn) I hold out hope for the future of this band.

-Captain