Weezer

Over the years, reviewers aplenty have wished for Weezer's Rivers Cuomo to grow up. But when he's occasionally tried to do so, the results have served as an argument for endless adolescence — at least until now. The group's latest self-titled release is practically a novelty disc, albeit a notably lazy one. The usual ten songs are padded out by a trio of tunes sung by the other bandmembers (only one, "Automatic," passes muster), and Cuomo's contributions include a moronic Chili Peppers rip ("Everybody Get Dangerous") and a flat-out embarrassing power-ballad satire ("Heart Songs"). Sure, "Troublemaker" sounds okay, and the single, "Pork and Beans," is dumb in a mildly enjoyable way. Overall, though, the disc feels phoned in, tossed off. Compared to this, a little maturity doesn't seem so bad.