Weezer

Though their early hits (“Undone (The Sweater Song),” “Buddy Holly”) suggested Weezer were a happy-go-lucky bunch, their 1996 follow-up, Pinkerton dispelled that notion quickly. It cast lead geek, Rivers Cuomo, as quite the angry young man, while the crew behind him roughed-up their power-pop charms in hopes of matching him step for angsty step. It tanked. Their return to the big game after nearly five years of inactivity finds a pretty comfortable middle ground between these two emotional extremes. They do wonders with both wistful pop songs (“Island in the Sun,” “Smile”) and grittier, fuzz-toned, guitar-rock (“Knockdown Dragout,” “Simple Pages”), as Cuomo makes it clear he’s no longer embarrassed by either his emotions or Weezer’s ability to turn them into hummable ear candy.