Review: Weezer, 'Raditude'
Weezer seems to have found its happy place with its seventh album, "Raditude," the alt-rock survivors' best album since 2002's "Maladroit." "Raditude" -- love the ridiculous title, as well as the dog-leaping-through-the-air cover art -- balances silliness and heart with Weezer's trademark nerdcore take on rifftastic hard-rock.
Where last year's self-titled "Red Album" found the band struggling with the simple task of being Weezer -- everyone took turns on lead vocals, leading to instantly forgettable results -- "Raditude" feels every bit like a Weezer album. Yet the band is more open than ever to outside collaborators: Pop producer Dr. Luke (Kelly Clarkson's "Since U Been Gone," Katy Perry's "I Kissed a Girl") is enlisted on "I'm Your Daddy," hip-hop impresario Jermaine Dupri co-writes two songs, and ubiquitous rapper Lil Wayne lends a guest verse to the deceptively melancholy "Can't Stop Partying." The band even adds sitars and Indian chants to its sound in "Love is the Answer."
Yet "Raditude" is a Weezer album through and through, with a focus on big guitars and catchy hooks. Lyrically, Rivers Cuomo seems to have regressed even further into his adolescence -... in "Let It All Hang Out" he wants nothing more than to go out with his homies, and "In the Mall" ("take the elevator to the escalator, ride it down and start again!") could have been written by an 8-year-old -... but the emphasis is always on fun. And it doesn't get much more fun than album opener "(If You're Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To," which combines lyrics about Slayer and Best Buy with a can't-lose bass groove and a chorus that explodes from your speakers. It captures the awkwardness and exhilaration of youth, conjuring up feelings of whimsy, nostalgia and pure joy. And like its creators, it has Raditude to spare.
GRADE: B+
