RIVERS CUOMO - Alone: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo

After the dull and flat Make Believe, Weezer appeared to have descended into full self-parody; an unfortunate retreading of gimmicky power-pop ideas that had become so slick, they had lost any sense of spontaneity. But with news of a sixth Weezer album on the horizon, this collection of demos from songwriter Rivers Cuomo reminds us of what made Weezer so engaging in the first place: geeky, catchy, and awkwardly honest. Sure, not everything here hits the mark, but listening to Cuomo shooting first and asking questions later suggests that it's big studios--not Cuomo--that is killing Weezer. Here's hoping.