Weezer
Maladroit
Geffen
Rivers Cuomo and the boys of Weezer follow-up their most commercially viable yet fan-panned effort to date, the Green Album, with Maladroit. It's a return to the moodier style displayed on Pinkerton,while simultaneously retaining the pop sheen of their last record.
Unlike Weezer's previous releases, Maladroit is held together primarily through the rhythm section. Drummer Patrick Wilson is finally allowed to unleash a highly calculated hell through his drum kit, while new bassist Scott Shriner grounds Cuomo's intermittent lapses into melodic overload. Unlike the Green Album, Maladroit provides Cuomo with the opportunity to tear through actual solos as opposed to transplanting the vocal line to his guitar. For once, Cuomo's vocals and fingers are as nimble as his pen. Fellow guitarist Brian Bell backs this stylistic flourish aptly and aggressively.
Maladroit reaches its musical apex on "Burndt Jamb." The track is indicative of much of Cuomo's writing, i.e. he discusses his sexual estrangement and/or affinity for a particularly distanced woman. Depressing as this sounds, it's not. The tune is jam-packed with doo-wop harmonies, playful guitar solos and a drum beat that's a whole hell of a lot tighter than Britney's nether regions.
Other highlights include the densely textured hard rocker "Slob" (which Cuomo placed on the album at fans' behest) and the melancholy balladry of "Death and Destruction," "Slave" and "December." "American Gigolo," "Keep Fishin'" and "Love Explosion" make good on the pop promise exemplified on the Green Album while "Take Control" and "Fall Together" finally establish the cock rock KISS-like aesthetic alluded to on Pinkerton and the Blue Album.
Although Maladroit is typically defined as being weak or inept, the album and Weezer are anything but. This being only the second disc produced by Weezer (the other being Pinkerton), it's far denser melodically and darker lyrically than previous efforts produced by Cars frontman Ric Ocasek. Maladroit is the closest Weezer has come to emulating Pinkerton, which is arguably their finest work to date. With Maladroit, Weezer continues to carry the emo-tinged geek rock torch.
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