Album Review

The problem with so many recent Weezer albums is that they tend to have a killer single or two that remind us why Rivers Cuomo is a genius, surrounded by auto-pilot power pop that leaves you wanting less. So Cuomo has decided to alleviate this problem on Raditude, the band’s latest release, by attempting to stuff the entire album with possible singles. It’s the old All-Killer, No-Filler ploy, and it’s just crazy enough to work.

Only it doesn’t, not quite anyway. On Raditude, you have Rivers Cuomo, a wellspring of benevolence these days, once again sharing the songwriting duties. On last year’s release (one of three self-titled Weezer albums, now known as the Red Album), he allowed his band members to take a shot at glory. This time, Cuomo calls on some of the biggest hitmakers around to help out, which is quite the ironic stance to take considering, on “Pork And Beans” just a year ago, he made light of his record company’s wishes for him to try the very same tactic.

But this band is all about the irony these days. Most of the songs ladle it on pretty thick, as the defiantly unfunky Cuomo and his forlorn croon yelps out boastful, hipster lyrics in the midst of situations that he likely would never come within 100 miles of in life. Seriously, does anyone really believe he actually goes out with his “homies” in search of Patron?

And while there’s no doubt that Rivers is in on the joke, the fact remains that it’s pretty much the same joke over and over again throughout the album. Sometimes, it’s funny enough and executed well enough to get us by. The 1-2 opening punch of “(If You’re Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To” and “I’m Your Daddy” feature the kind of head-rush choruses that few bands can pull off. In addition, the references are more geeky than grandiose, a la the Slayer T-Shirt wearing lovers of the “I Want You To” who “watched Titanic and it didn’t make us sad,” or the paramour of “Daddy” who woos his intended with promises of cheese fondue.

Listen to “(If You’re Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To”
Listen to “I’m Your Daddy”

As for the grand experiment of “Can’t Stop Partying,” co-written by Jermaine Dupri, produced by Polow Da Don, and featuring a guest rap by Lil Wayne (“Weezy and Weezer”), it isn’t the complete mess that it could have been, thanks to Cuomo’s minor chords and wounded croon making the titular statement less a boast than a cry for help.

Listen to “Can’t Stop Partying”

But other ham-handed grabs for radio play don’t quite gel, such as the Gary Glitter theatrics of “The Girl Got Hot” or the band biting some of their past glories on “Let It All Hang Out” (although the latter gets points for the pair of would-be studs psyching themselves up for a night on the town with Chiclets and Vitamin Water). The slow songs are punchless as well: “Love Is The Answer” flirts with Eastern instruments but doesn’t use them as anything more than window dressing, while “I Don’t Want To Let You Go” is a sweet Beach Boys homage, but piles on so many lyrical clichés that the overall effect is deadened. Only “Put Me Back Together,” co-written with the songwriting minds of The All-American Rejects, approaches the band’s former heartbroken glories.

Listen to “Let It All Hang Out”
Listen to “Put Me Back Together”

The best thing that can be said about Raditude is that it’s never dull. There’s always a hook right around the corner ready to distract the listener from the utter lack of depth. But it’s all too much empty flash. At some point, Cuomo should try portraying something other than the polar extremes of preening party animal or horny loser. If he did, we might be seduced by something other than a soaring refrain or well-timed power-chord jolt. Some genuine emotion connected to the ear candy would prove to be a lethal combination. Cuomo has proven in the past that he has the talent to do this, but it seems like he no longer has the inclination. What a shame that is.

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