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Bands
used to make records like this all the time.
They'd release an album, tour all year,
write a bunch of songs, record 'em, release
another album a year later. Since hardly
anybody — not even indie bands — does that
in 2002, it's a remarkable event when Weezer
does exactly that, especially following
a half-a-decade of inactivity. But, it's
hard not to think that this is the way it
should be done by all bands, since Maladroit
retains the high quality of The Green Album.
True, it doesn't offer much that's new —
it has a similarly short length, clocking
in at 33 minutes, it favors riff-heavy,
melodic rockers and has a lack of ballads,
while Rivers Cuomo is doggedly avoiding
the exposed-nerve confessions of Pinkerton
— but there are a couple of notable differences
that gives it its own character. Since the
band has returned to self-producing, there's
a tougher sound — nowhere near as raw as
Pinkerton, yet similarily loud and raucous,
overflowing with guitars spitting out riffs
and solos with a gleeful abandon. So, it's
essentially a harder-rocking version of
the last album. But you know what? It doesn't
matter because the band is at a peak. Cuomo
continues to write consistently strong songs,
occasionally penning a flat-out stunner
("Dope Nose" is one of their all-time
greatest songs), the band is tighter than
ever, the record crackles with energy —
nothing new, per se, but still vibrant,
catchy, and satisfying. It's so good, it's
hard not to think that it offers definitive
proof that even in 2002, it's best for a
band to keep going once they've hit a peak,
to turn out a bunch of records that find
them at the top of their game instead of
waiting three or four years to craft a follow-up.
After all, that's what builds not only a
body of work, but a legacy.
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Maladroit 