By Bobby Mullen, News Correspondent

California-based ‘geek-rock’ band Weezer has lived up to their quirky reputation. Recently, they released their first Snuggies. Last month, they released their seventh full-length studio album, Raditude. While this was the first album in which front man Rivers Cuomo shared some of the songwriting duties, the album is mainly noted for Cuomo’s branching into other genres and work with other artists and producers outside the band.
Raditude opens with its first single, the acoustic-driven love song ‘(If You’re Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To.’ In the song, Cuomo reminisces about a relationship with an old girlfriend, with purposely-dated references such as ‘The Slayer t-shirt fit the scene just right’ and ‘we watched ‘Titanic’ and it didn’t make us sad,’ as well as references to vegetarianism.
‘I’m Your Daddy’ is the next song on Ratitude and is slated to be the next single released by the band, according to MTV. Cuomo delves into the pop genre with this straightforward but catchy song, co-written with famed pop producer Lukasz ‘Dr. Luke’ Gottwald, who also penned pop hits such as Katy Perry’s ‘I Kissed a Girl’ and Miley Cyrus’ ‘Party in the USA’ Gottwald also wrote ‘Get Me Some,’ a song that appears on the deluxe edition of Raditude.
Cuomo next hopped genres to hip-hop, as legendary producer Jermaine Dupri wrote two of the album’s songs. ‘Can’t Stop Partying’ has Cuomo ‘rapping’ about his addiction to the club scene and the women he meets there, and features a guest appearance by hip-hop superstar Lil’ Wayne.
‘Let It All Hang Out,’ the other song written by Dupri, again focuses on ‘geek-rock’ icon Cuomo in the club scene. However, there is more of Weezer in this song than ‘Can’t Stop Partying,’ as the song opens with a heavy electric metal riff.
On ‘Love is the Answer,’ Cuomo taps into Indian pop music, with the use of a sitar and with backing vocals from Indian singer Amrita Sen and sitar player Nishat Khan.
While Raditude taps into many genres, there are a few classic Weezer tunes in the mix. ‘The Girl Got Hot’ is about Cuomo encountering a girl who, as the title suggests, ‘got hot’ since the last time he had seen her. This song features more traditional Weezer hooks, as does ‘Trippin Down the Freeway,’ a song about a tumultuous hot and cold relationship. ‘I Don’t Want to Let You Go’ is another in this classic Weezer mold, a love song with a heavy hook and catchy lyrics.
‘In the Mall’ is another simple song about what goes on in the mall, but is notable because it was written by drummer Patrick Wilson and has an impressive metal-style guitar solo from Cuomo.
Raditude isn’t innovative or explosive like some of Weezer’s earlier work, but if Cuomo expands on the album’s use of other band members’ writing, the band could be in for some major developments for any future albums.