Raditude

Weezer are keen to shake things up on their seventh album, with a worrying world music lilt to several tracks and awkward cameos from Lil Wayne and Jermaine Dupri (we dare you listen to Lil Wayne drop the line “Weezer and it’s Weezy, upside down MTV” without your blood running cold). Happily, River Cuomo’s talent for penning glistening punk pop is such that it can easily overcome such out-on-a-limb moments: despite Flight of the Conchords-worthy lyrics, single ‘(If You’re Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To’ is an ardent sizzler in the vein of early hits like ‘Island in the Sun’ and ‘Hashpipe’. Some of the wordplay on Raditude, it is true, verges on the creepy – sung in an icky falsetto, ‘I’m Your Daddy’ might just be the most disturbing thing Cuomo has ever written. But mostly, it’s a case of steady as she goes, as the band rifle through their box of tricks, evoking 80s power pop (‘Let It All Hang Out’), and frat-boy punk (‘Put Me Back Together’ features a cameo from All American Rejects). Despite the occasional curve-ball, this is an example of what Weezer do best: solid pop delivered with consummate craftsmanship.