Weezer - Maladroit

After taking five leisurely years to follow up on 1996's Pinkerton, Weezer are apparently on a roll. Arriving just over 12 months after The Green Album, Maladroit finds the Los Angeles power-pop band in the midst of a particularly fertile creative period. "Dope Nose," which is easily stronger than anything on the last album, flexes a sinister shout-along chorus and vintage Van Halen riffs, while the potent garage-punk blast of "Fall Together" wipes out any lingering discomfort over the thoroughly Sugar Ray-sounding "Island in the Sun." In a sense The Green Album was just a taster for this, the blissfully thunderous main dish. Sure, there are some deadpan emo moments ("Death and Destruction") littering the course, but mostly Maladroit is Weezer doing what they do best--inverting and embracing dumb rock stereotypes and somehow making them sound smart. --Aidin Vaziri Amazon.com

Freakin' Awesome

I bought Maladroit hoping nothing else: I hope this thing freakin rocks. and what do you know it does rock. My fav off this album though, has got to be Dope Nose. It is a rock hard hit of the year. Don't get me wrong, all the other songs, (like slob, burndt jamb, and space rock) are almost just as good, but not quite. So lets give a round of applause to everybody's favorite band Weezer! (their other albums ae great too) July 17, 2008

4.5; a pretty solid Weezer release

After a 5 year hiatus from the release of their misunderstood "Pinkerton", Weezer came back with another self-titled, this one dubbed "The Green Album", and soon everyone was glad to have them back. Only the record suffered from a feeling of sameness and didn't have the spontaneity of bursting out into a barbershop quarter-type part in Holiday or the raw emotion of Across the Sea and there was a feeling that it was sort...safe. A year later, they came back with "Maladroit" and the disc certainly rocks harder and has more stronger songs but some aren't quite up to par.

American Gigalo: 4 for 4 as Weezer deliver another great album opener with big crunchy chords, that awesome pre-chorus ("if you want me, you can't have me") and hooks all around. One of my favorites off the record. 9.5/10

Dope Nose: Sure it's short but it's got a big guitar riff, "oh-oh's", and even a genuine solo for once instead of Green Album's lighter deals. But strangely, I always preferred other songs on the record to this but I still like this one too. 9/10

Keep Fishin: Strangely the old demo released online and the radio version is better than the album one. But the hooks are definately there as the song barely lets up with parts to sing along to and 60's-sounding choruses. My one complaint is that it sounds...I don't know, messy compared to the other ones. 8.5/10 9/10 for the radio/demo versions

Take Control: One of the heavier riffs off the record though strangely there's not a stronger song attached to it. The lyrics are fine and structurally it works but it's just not completely interesting. 7/10

Death and Destruction: It's got the vocals from Rivers and the big chords during the chorus but it got kinda old and my favorite part, that little buildup at the end, lasts about 20 seconds and it's at the end. Too bad. 7/10

Slob: I quickly grew into this one with quite angry, passionate vocals from Rivers and it's just very energetic and I love when it gets more heavier and upbeat. I'm not a huge fan of the solo part, kind of kills the energy but it's short so it works. 9/10

Burndt Jamb: A sort of twisted "Island in the Sun" if you will with a sort of ska-reggae mix of a guitar riff, "doo-doo"'s that sound sort of old-school pop until it goes into its big wordless chorus. It kind of works and it's fun to play but it's not quite an album highlight. 8/10

Space Rock: The verse melody I found works quite well but then the frequent "ooh-ooh"'s show up and not quite ruin it but it doesn't feel right, not to mention the chorus is slightly weak and the mix sounds slightly too messy. Parts work, others doesn't so what you gonna do? 7.5/10

Slave: Starts out very loud with huge chords then it turns into something that could've fit on Green Album, complete with its strong chorus that it's easy to sing along to. Originally I didn't like it much but over time I grew to like it. 8/10

Fall Together: Another heavy one like Take Control and it's catchy to a certain degree but I kind of like listening to it rather than singing along to it. I guess it's alright. 7.5/10

Possibilities: Wasn't ever a fan of this one to be honest and I would've liked it left off. It's sort of a fast paced punk song with those frequent background vocals doing oohs-oohs. Sounds like an even poppier Green Day but still not into it much. 6/10

Love Explosion: The verse riff is insanely catchy and it keeps it up fairly well. Originally I wasn't a fan of it but the more I listened, the less I nitpicked and grew to like it. Not love but like's good enough. 8/10

December: The original demo had clean guitar and it had a sort of old-60's vibe but now it's more loud and rocking, a sort of less-schmaltzy power ballad. I always liked the song and though the music change is a little missed, the core of it still works. The solo kills the momentum though it also makes the sound less monotonous. 8.5/10

It's not up there with the Blue Album as my favorite but of the later day (read: post-Pinkerton) records, it's strangely the most consistent. May 28, 2008

What took me so long to buy this album?

I am a fairly new Weezer fan, ever since they toured with the Foo Fighters a couple years ago. They were amazing and as such I went out and started buying all their music, with the exception of this album. Well, I finally did purchase it w/Pinkerton a couple months ago and was very happy. Solid and rocking. I recommend this album highly. April 18, 2008

My least favorite Weez album to date.

Okay, I know what some may think, but I am NOT in fact a Weezer purist. I think that Weezer (Green Album) is an incredible record and that Make Believe isn't too far behind either, for instance. However, those songs had more memorable songs and didn't have to get bogged down by ugly-sounding distortion. I know that sometimes it can make for a good thing, but to me that really is the album's big Achilles.

As some may expect there is some quality stuff on "Maladroit." My favorite song is the single "Keep Fishin'" which writes in love but in a way that you came to love Rivers' songwriting. It's probably the song that people remember and come back to the most from the album. I also really like "Take Control" and while its distortion bugs me the rest of the song is really solid. It actually comes off as a full-fledged track and doesn't bury the goods from the mix. Plenty of songs are pretty decent, even if you've heard more than just pretty decent from the group.

They seemed to really care about what the critics were saying. I mean, I know they've used hard rock riffs before but they feel like they want to convince the world they're doing that on this album. And after long enough it wears the listener to hear such a thing. It looks like many of the Weezer snobs of old didn't like this turn in direction either, and for once I must grudgingly admit to agreeing with them. Half of the songs are not really tuneful in the least and just sound like a jam out session gone very wrong. If I don't hear another Weezer album like this I think I'll be fine. Rivers really jumps the ship here, but it was recovered later.

I recommend it if you're looking to complete Weezer in your collection but I don't suggest it to any casual fans. It's not even one of the better remembered records from Weez and there is a good reason for that as well. January 27, 2008

AWESOME CD

Very good CD one of Weezer's best. I found the first song to be funny. Don't ask me why i just found it funny. Good CD. If you like Weezer, or if you are a nerd, geek, stoner, whatever, or if you like rock music this is a great album!!!!!!!! January 3, 2008

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