Weezer - Hurley

(Epitaph)

Weezer have been underachieving for most of their career, reaching a nadir with last year’s risible Raditude. A recent switch from Geffen to an indie label has injected a modicum of energy into Hurley, but it’s still a long way from the band’s dizzy heights.
Opener ‘Memories’ and ‘Trainwrecks’ do a decent job of combining typically confessional Rivers Cuomo lyrics with driving riffage and rhythms, but there is a recycled and uninspired nature to much else here. And if there are more embarrassing rock songs than ‘Where is My Sex?’ and ‘Smart Girls’ written this year, I’d be very surprised.