Raditude By Weezer

If ever a rock band (who weren’t surfers and high all time) could be called ‘rad,’ Weezer would be the one. So Raditude, the title of their new album, is very fitting. While it’s the same sort of easy-to-digest, fuzzy, funky rock music as Red Album, their last chart-topper, Raditude appears to have taken a step backwards from the band’s previous grand thoughts, like “The Greatest Man That Ever Lived,” and addresses more everyman themes like the recession (“In The Mall”) and chilling with your ‘homies’ (“Tripping Down The Highway” and “Can’t Stop Partying”).

The opening track and first single “(If You’re Wondering If You Want To) I Want You To” picks listeners up with its radio-friendly beat right from the opening chords. It’s sets itself apart from Weezer’s typical brand of rock because their standard gauzy wall of guitars is absent come chorus-time, allowing you to focus on the lyrical story of a boy and girl nervously awaiting the other to make the first move. It’s a song most of Weezer’s fans will be able to relate to and laugh at.

The track “I Can’t Stop Partying” brings Weezer together with an interesting collaborator – Weezy (aka Lil Wayne). When rock and rap artists try to do songs together, they often try to switch between heavy guitars and hip-hop beats in the same song and end up sounding stilted and contrived. Luckily, the two artists here have found a happy compromise in the funk-infused club rock of this tune.

Aside from the partying and the good times, the music does soften occasionally to let in a few emotional tunes, like “Put Me Back Together” and “I Don’t Want To Let You Go,” that evoke a pleading-rock vibe, similar to the likes of Something Corporate.

“Get Me Some” is also enjoyable for its in-your-face attitude, and “Love Is The Answer” does something different in incorporating Hindu music into the band’s sound to come up with an “All You Need Is Love”-type chant.

Raditude turns out to be a more honest collection of songs than we’ve heard from the California-based band in a good few years. The musical style strays little from what we’ve come to expect from them, but the ‘rad’ lyrical stories and feel-good vibe that Rivers Cuomo weaves mean you should listen to it now.