Putting out another album like clockwork, Weezer released “Hurley” on September 10th.  The album is named after the character Hugo “Hurley” Reyes from the hit television show “Lost”.  The band has always been known for their quirky attitudes and nerdy tendencies, but their last two albums have not pleased their fans. “Hurley,” on the other hand, is something that relates back to “Blue Album” days and brings back that raw, nerd-punky sound.  While the antics of their teenage years are far behind the band members, the sound of teenage love and confusion continue to ring out. Album opener “Memories” shows exactly this with lines like “make me want to go back there.”  It speaks about the romance of adolescence and the dramatic changes of adulthood.  This song doesn’t get too mushy, though.  It features a chorus of personal Weezer friends – the cast of the hit show Jackass. My personal favorite song on the newest Weezer album is “Trainwrecks.”  The hindsight that Weezer has of their youth gives them an interesting perspective on its imperfections.  The message of persevering through hard times and not caring if you’re a train wreck somehow doesn’t sound cheesy and cliché when it comes from the aged Rivers Cuomo, the lead singer, guitarist, and songwriter of Weezer. The big sound that every Weezer fan is hooked on is shown best in “Hang On.”  The hopefulness of the song and the repetition of the song’s title stay true to Weezer’s form.  The anticipation and buildup of the song allow the listener to completely let loose and sing along with the catchy chorus. Another personal favorite from the “Hurley” goldmine is “Smart Girls.”  The stress on Weezer’s beloved nerdy personalities is fully revealed in this song.  Singing about the value they place in the intelligence of a woman is a nice break from the pop culture world of drunken girls. Weezer songs are predictable with their simple riffs leading into heavy guitar choruses, but “Hurley” stretched the band a little further with acoustic sounds in “Unspoken” and an acoustic piano intro in the teenage love ballad, “Run Away.” The letdown of the last two Weezer releases made me apprehensive in even giving “Hurley” a chance.  However, it only took me a few minutes to realize that this album reverts back to the band’s roots in the quirky, catchy, sing-along punk-pop songs that I loved so much from “Pinkerton” and “Blue Album”. The latest in the world of Weezer, “Hurley” is most definitely an instant classic. Allison Siegel can be reached for comment at [email protected]