Weezer (Green Album)

iTunes Review

After Weezer’s risky 1997 thrash makeover Pinkerton, succumbed to the sophomore curse with an ignominious — and largely undeserved — critical and commercial drubbing, the band went into literal and artistic retreat. They resurfaced four years later both chastened and refocused by the experience, a band seemingly eager to reclaim its mantle as geekdom’s premiere pop-rockers. Echoing their 1994 debut right down to producer Ric Ocasek and the primary color scheme of its cover (whose hue got it dubbed “Green Album”), it’s an exercise in shrewd, if brisk pop economy whose best tracks confirm songwriter Rivers Cuomo’s quirky gifts. “Don’t Let Go” and “Smile” may be a tad more distanced than “Undone” and “Buddy Holly,” even if they could as well be templates for contemporary punk-pop pretenders with half his talent. “Knockdown Dragout” and “Glorious Days” positively bristle, while the snarky anthem “Hash Pipe” could only be the product of Cuomo’s skewed brilliance.