nosmiles disagrees: For anyone who had listened to the demos graciously offered by Weezer.com, there was clear anticipation for this. However, there was once again a clear disappointment. One example is with "Burndt Jam". In its earlier days, it was an instrumental. It is quite unfortunate that Rivers Cuomo chose to add his lyrical nonsense to this wonderful track.

I cannot say that the album is horrible, because indeed it is not. There are several improvements over the Green Album, such as more complex chord structures, along with complex solos. But the lyrics are still nonsense; almost to the point of calling them crap. And surprisingly, they were listed in the liner notes - a first for a Weezer album.

There is more differentiation between songs on this album in comparison to the Green Album. Not every track is catchy and fun. As well, there are a tad more textures weaved into each song, but not nearly enough. ("Burndt Jam") does a wonderful job of applying textures, fun guitar melodies, yet keeping the song simple enough to enjoy. And although the vocals sound great, they really don't belong on the track.

"American Gigolo" and "Fall Together" are wonderfully catchy, yet have heavier guitars and a more aggressive sound. The choruses harmonies help lighten the songs while the solos drive rock into the listener. Then there is "Possibilities", which doesn't even deserve to be mentioned. The harmony used is not only annoying, but is so full of sugar that it hurts my teeth to listen to it.

To summarize, there are advantages and disadvantages of this album over the Green Album. Once again, nothing can remotely come close to the brilliance of their Blue Album debut, and sadly, Weezer are continuing to not play their best.

Best Aspect: Fun Rock
Worst Aspect: Lyical nonsense
Yay: Burndt Jam, Love Explosion, Fall Together
Nay: Take Control, Slob, Possibilities (eww)
The hits: Dope Nose, Keep Fishin'
Similar: Nada Surf, Ataris, Local H
Style: Rock
Special Notes: Lyrics in the liner notes.