Weezer

Weezer You'd think that after a five-year hiatus, Rivers Cuomo would have been able to come up with more than ten three-minute grunge-pop nuggets for his band's third release, but apparently not. And it's not even like the ten songs that make up the record are particularly special. In fact, on balance, this is the band's least successful record. It lacks the dynamic pop explosion of their debut and the dark cynicism of Pinkerton. The songs are fine for what they are ¾ Cuomo's self deprecating sense of humour and flare for harmonic hooks are intact ¾ and the return of producer Ric Ocasek ensures they are sonically dynamic, but the loss of bassist Matt Sharpe has left a void where that extra little edge was on the other records. A solid record full of wit and whimsy but disappointing by Weezer standards.