A new sound
Maladroit is a great, rockin album in and of itself. It's full of cruchy guitars, soaring vocal harmonies, and quirky lyrics--something that amounts to a shift in Weezer's sound. In the context of the previous three albums, though, this would have to rate as number four on my list of favourites. My biggest gripe has to do with the lack of musical variation. Yes, each song is very distinct, but each song features the same roaring guitar sounds, and by the time I'm finished listening to the whole thing, I feel like that approach becomes grating. It's difficult to find a spot to breathe in this album. By adding some crescendos or volume differences, this could have been avoided, as evident in the past three albums. It's clear that Weezer is heading in a metal direction, so keep that in mind.With that aside, the album scores high marks on vocals. Lead singer Rivers Cuomo has managed to inflect more emotion into these songs, something that was conspicuously absent from the Green album. And there are more harmonies than ever on Maladroit. Guitarist Brian Bell and new bassist Scott Shriner's backup singing complement the songs well.
The production on Maladroit is superb. The guys have managed to capture that raw, almost garage-sounding feel that eluded them on the super-slick Green album. It's got a live feel.
Overall, while a departure from the sound of the previous albums, Maladroit stands alone as a bright light among the dark doldrums of rock music today. Standout tracks: Slob, December, Death & Destruction, Slave, and Take Control.
Weezer Takes Control as "Maladroit" Falls Together
Maladroit is a good album. I personally don't think Weezer puts out anything that isn't at least good. Rivers is an excellent songwriter, the band is musically tight, and it shows.
Ever since the "Green Album" Weezer has been working their butts off, touring and writing, keeping a fabulous website with free mp3's and videos for fans. These guys are busy! Maladroit came out, what, not even a year after Green? That's commendable.
On the other hand (and possibly due to the fast paced work schedule)Maladroit seems thrown together. Now don't get me wrong, there are definitely more than a few gems here, but songs such as "Death and Destruction", "Space Rock", "Love Explosion" just leave me hanging. The best tracks in my opinion are "Take Control", "Slob", "Dope Nose", "American Gigolo", "Keep Fishin'" and "Fall Together".
I am a big Weezer fan. I've followed them and have been devoted to their music from the beginning. I will always buy any music, DVD's etc. they put out. Because even their "bad", "mediocre" "uncatchy" "weird" stuff etc., is good. Bottom line: Check it out!
P.S. If Maladroit doesn't convince you of Weezer's musical powers, pick up "Pinkerton", their second, most emotionally driven album. I think Pinkerton gives a full view of Weezer's capabilities.
If you like the catchier stuff, definitely go "Blue Album", or "Green Album".
Thanks for reading. I hope this helps.
a new weezer
With 2001's "The Green Album", Weezer re-invented themselves,as a straight-foward rock band. Their songs became shorter in length,and packed less of the emotional punch of their two previous efforts (see "The Blue Album (1994), and "Pinkerton" (1996), what remained were the extremely catchy melodies that have propelled songwriter Rivers Cuomo to stardom. With "Maladroit", Cuomo once again seeks to re-invent himself, and has for the most part succeeded. "Maladroit" is infinitely "heavier" than it's predecessor, both lyrically, and musically. The songwriting is also far darker and often delves back into the rocky emotional terrain, Cuomo previously explored in "Pinkerton". While the work is not entirely strong as a whole, contained here are some of the best Weezer songs to date. There are several standout tracks including, "Slob", "Slave", "Death and Destruction",and "Take Control". These tracks showcase blistering rock riffs, as well as intelligent and personal songwriting. The rest is more fun-time rock n' roll, and I mean that in the best way. Simply put, Weezer has made an album that rocks, and that was all they set out to do.
More Like Maladorque
OMG Weezer rawk so hard on this album. Rivers Cuomo is a rawk god, have you seen the guy? Well I have, and if Rivers Cuomo is a rock god than I am the second cousin of the lovechild of Jon Bon Jovi and Meryl Streep. One reviewer commented that this album will probably 'appeal more to real fans, than the general public. He's right it probably does appeal more to the real fans (i.e Japanese anime nerds) then the general public (i.e pimps). People might try to say something to refute this like, "Oh this is the least nerdy album they've ever made". While Weezer may not be flaunting their geeky lifestyle they are still just as nerdy only in a different, worse way. Now they're like that lanky red hair kid you see at school that is dressing like a gangster to fit in with the cool kids even though just last year he was a member of the audio visual club. Yes Weezer are trying to be accepted with all the cool kids, and they end up looking like complete and utter fools. Like the idea of 'Cheap Trick in the new millenium', yeah me neither. The whole album reeks of rawkin, loud tunes that your grandma would say is 'hardcore' to the max. And everyone knows that the coolest music in the world is the kind that your grandma likes. Right. I really wish I could say there was a good tune on this album but I can't seem to think of one, well the video for Go Fishin' makes the song ten times better because the muppets are on it. Yeah, that's about it. I hate this one song that's called Space Rock more than the others though because it was misleading as hell. I was expecting a song about space and got nothing. Kind of like how I was expecting a decent album and got this flop.
A Nice Mix
This album is a good mix of Weezer songs with familiar sounds. Dope Nose sounds like a song you would hear off of the Green Album, except much more powerful. Keep Fishin' is a track that could fit on Pinkerton well, and is one of the best tracks on the album, if not THE best. The song Love Explosion caught my attention, and it is definately a song that could fit on the Blue album. Most of these songs are catchy and unique, like most Weezer songs are. Basically, if you enjoyed all of the previous Weezer albums, then you will like this one. I can't help but be biased and give Maladroit 5 stars.
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
