Rivers Cuomo is a weird, weird guy.If people couldn't tell that from all the stories of his seclusion at Harvard University or of how he baffles and frustrates every reporter that ever dared interview him, they could certainly pick up on it from his quirky, yet catchy songwriting found on Weezer's first three albums. Songs like "My Name Is Jonas" or "Undone (The Sweater Song)" or the entire Pinkerton album prove that point.
But on Maladroit, Weezer's fourth album, which hits stores Tuesday, Cuomo's songwriting takes on a much more deeply serious tone. The album's best songs boast a reinvented writing style that draws from heartbreak and rejection rather than pay tribute to Buddy Holly or the half-Japanese girls made famous by Pinkerton's "El Scorcho." Usually, when bands try to branch out with the lyrics and songs they write, the results with fans are hit-or-miss. Maladroit, however, is an album that everyone ought to love.
The album appropriately starts off with two strong tracks that remind listeners of the Green Album. "American Gigolo," the first track, is by no means a hit single in the making, but its high energy makes it a great leadoff track for any Weezer album. Listeners will recognize "Dope Nose," the next track, from nearly every Chicagoland alternative radio station. The album's first single is classic Weezer: a great driving guitar hook, catchy vocals and a fierce guitar solo during the bridge.
After calling back memories of the Green Album with the first two songs, Cuomo transitions into his newer, more serious material with "Keep Fishin'." Though the guitar riff and melody sound familiar like in albums past, the lyrics hardly follow the Weezer formula. Cuomo sings, "Just the thought of you in love with someone else / Breaks my heart to see you hanging from the shelf." Cuomo only scratches the surface with this song.
"Take Control" builds on the intensity of "Keep Fishin'" and far surpasses it to stand out as Maladroit's best song. The song pulls listeners in right away with a great riff of broken power chords that Cuomo and guitarist Brian Bell build on to keep the intensity of the song high to match the gravity of the song's lyrics. The song receives a great touch from the tight harmony on the chorus, accentuating the line "And I won't be coming back 'round here no more," making it an emphatic, unforgettable statement. In true Weezer fashion, "Take Control" features a great guitar solo.
As difficult as it is to follow "Take Control," the next track "Death and Destruction" still stands out as a stellar song. Starting out rather laidback and melodic, the song picks up in intensity and tempo, picking up some well-placed guitar distortion along the way. The words are the best part about this song; they are the most painful lyrics Cuomo has written to date, full of heartache and rejection.
In a similar way, the lyrics to "Slob" are just as potent. Cuomo sings, "Leave me alone / I'm a pig ... / Get yourself a wife, get yourself a job / You're living a dream, don't be a slob." The song's theme of self-loathing fits in very well with the bass-heavy guitar riff.
Maladroit then moves from "Slob" to its musical opposite: the catchy, eccentric "Burndt Jamb." The guitar riff will get stuck in listeners' heads and never get out, and it is complemented well by just the right amount of emphasis on the bass and background vocals. The funky bridge and outro make it a fun song reminiscent of 1995's Blue Album.
In fact, the last six songs would sound right at home on the Blue Album, as they all have the catchy elements that early Weezer fans love. Cuomo moves away from his emotionally intense songwriting he expertly displayed in "Take Control" and "Slob." This does not exactly mean the rest of Maladroit is filler.
"Space Rock" is a great instrumental track with vocals so subtle they almost accompany the guitar melody rather than stand out from it. "Possibilities" is a great straightforward punk song. Weezer end Maladroit with "December," which closely resembles "Only In Dreams," the subdued closer of the Blue Album. The last track melodically caps an album that runs the gauntlet from it's pop-punk beginning to its intense core of songs that make "Say It Ain't So" sound like "MMMBop."
Some may complain about the album's schizophrenic song order, but that argument is a stretch at best. Maladroit is a diverse and versatile album that shows even bands as well established and popular as Weezer can outdo themselves.
The only downside to Maladroit is the same one found in the Green Album. It's short. Only 34 minutes long, it leaves listeners begging for more. Luckily, at the time of publication, Weezer is currently in the studio putting the finishing touches on their fifth album.
