Pitchfork

When you throw the new Weezer disc into the player expecting the cute 60s-style geekpop that made their debut a worldwide success, you're going to be surprised. Shocked, maybe. The feeling still edges toward geeky pop, but Rivers Cuomo's apparently not feeling like himself these days. Not only is this record not a joyous blast of uplifting rock magic, it's a fuckin' downer at times! Cuomo needs to see a doctor about this depression thing.

On their self-titled debut, Cuomo sang about the Kiss posters hanging in his garage, and here they take the Gene Simmons approach, except without the great light and makeup show. The album is way harder than the last one, and I miss the instant impact 'cause Pinkerton takes a few listens to get into. Which is not to say that it won't rock your world. In fact, by listen number three, you're on the ground with pop spasms. With that in mind, Pinkerton might actually be a bit much for fans who were wooed with the clean production and immediately accessible sound of these guys' debut, but if given a chance, it might surprise even some anti-Weezer folk.