Hurley

Hurley is, for the most part, chock full of the same mechanical dreck that has peppered Weezer’s last handful of releases, from Maladroit to Raditude.

Nobody is going to confuse this with 1990s Weezer-- there are still plenty of oddball collaborations (Michael Cera, Linda Perry) for one thing-- but the lows aren't as low or as frequent as they were in recent years.

Reminiscing about their nineties days, Hurley is very much a reawakening towards more confessional material. Though it sounds more imaginary than accurate, Cuomo’s calculated verses remain purposely effortless.

Luckily, thanks to some key assists from outside hands, Cuomo rarely falls into the same trap again, and the majority of Hurley is mindless (dare I even say it) fun.

Those who optimistically purchased Make Believe and Raditude will know that a good first single does not a great Weezer album make, but Hurley is packed solid, with a sense of fun and good-time melodies cropping up at every juncture.