leak of the week

Is Hurley Weezer’s Best Since Make Believe?

Weezer, Hurley

Official release date: September 14

The Verdict: Owing to Ratitude, Maladroit, Make Believe, the red and green albums, and Rivers Cuomo’s solo material, there are few things more terrifying to longtime Weezer fans these days than the prospect of a new Weezer album. And here’s one now: Since our first look at Hurley’s delightful cover, we’ve wondered if there was anything besides just more slick, impassive mall-punk songs (and a possibly sketchy endorsement) hiding behind Jorge Garcia’s smile. Hurley hit the Internet last night (you can stream it here) — and the answer is sort of!

If you liked the totally not-bad first single “Memories,” you’ll probably also enjoy the similarly pleasant “Trainwrecks,” “Unspoken,” and “Run Away.” “Where’s My Sex,” the album’s worst track, is about as bad as we’d feared, but at least it’s not this. Hurley’s no Pinkerton, obviously, but worse things have definitely happened.

Is Hurley Weezer’s Best Since Make Believe?