There was a time when I thought there were only two kind of Weezer fans: the ones who identified with Pinkerton and the ones who jumped on the bandwagon because “Island in the Sun” was so damned catchy. But since the group’s 2001 re-emergence, more and more of the former group have shunned the band, writing off front man Rivers Cuomo as a two-trick pony and calling Weezer (The Green Album), Maladroit, and Make Believe nothing but average power pop. Early reviews for the band’s sixth offering, Weezer (Red Album), follow that path, solidifying the new kind of Weezer fan: overly analytical elitist. Surely, none of the post-cloister albums are as good as Pinkerton or Weezer (Blue Album), and some of them do have some awful songs, but they’re all remarkably listenable, and the red Weezer is no exception.

The album opens with a sequence of four ironic, self-aware songs that lay out Weezer’s opulent history. “Troublemaker” and “Pork and Beans,” the albums third and first singles, respectively, are the kind of catchy, crunchy tunes that you may have found in either of the band’s earlier self-titled efforts, the first track sounding more like 1994’s Weezer and the latter more like 2001’s Weezer. The quartet reaches its high point with “The Greatest Man that Ever Lived (Variations on a Shaker Hymn),” the album’s most inventive track, and its low point in “Heart Songs,” a schmaltzy shout-out to the artists that got Cuomo interested in music. The song is saved, though, by its final verse, which pays homage to Nirvana’s Nevermind.

As Weezer has gotten older, their songs have veered away from the in-the-moment, emotionally driven lyrics and more towards nostalgia, as evidenced by “Everybody Get Dangerous” and “Dreamin’,” two songs about youth sung from the adult perspective. “Dangerous” is a wonderful instrumental callback to the band’s halcyon days. The three penultimate tracks, meanwhile, feature the supporting players in Weezer, giving a lead singing role to Brian Bell, Scott Shriner and dutiful percussionist Patrick Wilson. While not archetypically Weezer-like, the songs represent a new creative direction for the band that could yield great results in the future.

As I sit here, listening to “In the Garage,” I realize that Weezer is unlikely to release anything as groundbreaking or clever as their first two albums. Lyrically, the red version of Weezer is no great achievement, and it will do little to convince the Pinkerton purists that Weezer has returned to form. But for those of us who have enjoyed the band through thick and thin, the new album will provide plenty of chances to sing along to some above-average rock.

Rating: * * * ½ of 5

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