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Before I go into any specifics about the album, I have a quick disclaimer: If the only Weezer you will listen to is Pinkerton and The Blue Album, stay far, far away from Raditude. Case in point: Lil’ Wayne contributes a verse on one song. So, if Weezer’s lean toward the mainstream sickens you, steer clear, because they don’t even pretend to be anything less than a pop band on Raditude.

With the disclaimer out of the way, I can now safely say that Raditude isn’t a bad album at all. Granted, it’s nothing like the music Weezer used to make, but that doesn’t necessarily make it worse. If we mark Make Believe as the beginning of Weezer’s transformation, then Raditude is without a doubt the best album of the new era. It is a solid album of simple pop-rock tunes, and nobody’s pop sense is better in tune than Rivers Cuomo.

The album kicks off with the 8th grade relationship anthem, ‘(If You’re Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To’. Over an infectious guitar hook, Cuomo tells believable stories about middle school sexual tension. Although it’s a bit of an odd topic for a 39-year-old songwriter, Cuomo hits the nail on the head describing middle school awkwardness. The album continues with ‘I’m Your Daddy’, and by the first chorus, it’s clear that Cuomo has no qualms about going balls deep into generic pop music. That would be bad, but Weezer the songs are crafted so well that even though the sound isn’t original, it’s still catchy as hell. Some other favorites on the album: ‘The Girl Got Hot’, featuring Cuomo musing about the newfound attractiveness of a girl who nobody used to look twice at; ‘Tripping Down The Freeway’, a clever tune about a dysfunctional relationship that Cuomo refuses to end; ‘The Prettiest Girl In the Whole Wide World’, a romantic tune with an almost AC/DC-esque intro.

I’ve purposely left off ‘Can’t Stop Partying’, because it isn’t really a Weezer song. It seems like they took lyrics from Jamie Foxx and Akon and told Cuomo to sing them. This song would be better off on one of R. Kelly’s albums, complete with Lil’ Wayne guest verse. Don’t get me wrong, Lil’ Wayne’s verse is as deft and clever as always, but it just doesn’t fit in with Weezer. It doesn’t sound like something Cuomo would, or should, write.

Other than an odd obsession with middle school and the aforementioned unfitting song, the album is generally a good effort from a great pop band. Once again, it’s not Pinkerton, but we’ve known for awhile that Pinkerton is never coming back. If you can accept Weezer’s new sound, it’s obvious that this album is leaps and bounds better than the last two. I hope that, no matter which path they take, Weezer doesn’t stop making catchy songs. In that regard, Raditude doesn’t disappoint.

Check out their myspace or website for more information about the band.

Weezer – The Girl Got Hot
Weezer – Tripping Down The Freeway
Weezer – The Prettiest Girl In The Whole Wide World