Weezer's "Red Album" - the band's sixth studio and third self-titled album - was released June 3.
It almost feels as if 38-year-old Rivers Cuomo, the band's primary lyricist and leader, is going through puberty's second coming rather than the mid-life crisis fans might expect. His words have gone from abrupt and forward (a la Pinkerton's "Tired of Sex") to a softer-sounding kind that still cry out for attention.
The band's style varies widely from song to song, and to write this album off as another churn-out in the limitless Weezer-rock vein would be unjust.
"The Greatest Man That Ever Lived" is a perfect example of the stylistic changeup for Cuomo and his geek-rock crew.
The lengthy rap intro is just painful. The lyrics throughout the song, which emphasize in self-congratulatory hip-hop glory how great Cuomo is, are forced to the point that I can't take the words literally, especially when the following track contains jabs the success of hip-hop artist Timbaland.
Weezer doesn't forget to include a few anthemic moments, which are exemplified by the record's meme-infused video - their third No. 1 single - "Pork and Beans."
That and some other tracks on the record call back to old-school Weezer days, but for the most part, each song has a polished unity all its own.
For example, "Thought I Knew" tips a nod at The Beatles with its vocal style and some of its chords the way that pieces of 2002's Maladroit did.
The tracks continue to mix it up stylistically though.
"Automatic" has a near-country bend that complements the band's style better than I would have thought possible. I've been waiting for Cuomo to get a bit bluesier, and this track delivers something in that vein.
"Heart Songs" goes down tempo a bit and uses some well-placed orchestral strings to augment its slow-rock style and whimsical lyrics.
The record goes on to deliver a few of Weezer's lengthiest tunes, some of which explore styles approaching funk and other fusions foreign to Cuomo's quartet.
So, sure, some of the words are sandpapery-hard to swallow, but that's always been Cuomo's quirky way. This time, I feel like he's harnessed it and laid down the control of the evolved, older gentlemen he's becoming.
Surely, it's B-minus work at best from some band you've never heard of. But as the latest in a long line of albums, "Red" is shiny and well-orchestrated.
Weezer has found another well-greased lane upon which to bowl their ball of individuality-conquers-all.