Weezer return to their indie rock roots on Hurley, their first release on Epitaph and the start of a new chapter in the band’s storied career. In many ways, Weezer have always been the unlikeliest of pop bands, earning major radio and video play for leftfield singles like “Undone” and “Buddy Holly,” songs that hardly seem calculated to become radio hits. It is exactly this “uncalculated” quality that the band returns to on their eighth album. Hurley is as warm and embracing as the glowing smile on actor Jorge Garcia’s face that graces the cover, as ragged and endearing as fan favorite Pinkerton, as bold and hooky and open as “Pork and Beans.” And as if that wasn’t confusing enough, Rivers Cuomo cowrites with Ryan Adams and legendary Elvis Presley writer Mac Davis (“In the Ghetto”). In other words, Hurley is in the classic tradition of the best Weezer albums, goofy and confessional and geeky and hugely singalong.

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