Weezer is one of those bands that inspire dogged loyalty among fans who still identify with their nerd-power ethos. While there is some room for debate, it is generally accepted that their debut "Blue" album is perhaps the ultimate geek-manifesto record of all time, but their more rocking follow-up Pinkerton is a slightly better album.

After their long lay off, the pattern was repeated within the space of a year with their "Green' album heralding their return, though a bit too mellow and lacking in the trademark quirky glee. Quite amazingly, before disaffected fans and critics could even form the words "sell out" the band released Maladroit less than a year later and quieted all naysayers who may have believed that Cuomo and company had lost the goods. Even those who had historically taken a dim view of the band had to admire the one-two punch that Weezer was able to throw with such power in 2002.

Which brings us to Make Believe. After listening to this thing dozens of times - literally dragging the River ( if you'll forgive the pun) I'm afraid the only conclusion one can reasonably reach, is that this record falls into a category that no other Weezer album has thus far - albums that totally suck. It can fairly be said that Weezer's second wind albums were offered a measure of critical leniency - we were grateful to have them back and the echoes of their past glory rang through clearly enough to cut them a bit of slack. After all, these were pretty standard power-pop songs, none of which really possessed the effortless brilliance and self-conscious glory of their earlier work - but the fact of the matter is that it wasn't bad. Few critics will be able to Make Believe that this new one is anything but bad.

Make Believe starts off with the Single "Beverly Hills" certainly a song that's tough to get very excited about - and just goes straight down hill. At some point I would have expected Cuomo to ditch his beaten notebook lyrical approach and maybe even show off a bit of that Ivy League education he's spent the past few years soaking in. Make Believe is put together with lyrics so warmed over and weak that they push the limits of banality for any songwriter, much less one as celebrated as Rivers Cuomo. This, coupled with the shockingly lackluster musical arrangement, makes one wonder if we've been somehow fooled and that Weezer was never any more relevant than REO Speedwagon. At this point I'm a little bit afraid to go back and check

For my money the best song is Track 3 - the guitar solo heavy "Perfect Situation" that I like because it sounds just like a Semisonic song (or more accurately Semisonic's earlier incarnation Trip Shakespeare). It's the only track with any kind of decent melodic sensibility, but then again they cribbed it from Dan Wilson. Track 4 "This is Such a Pity" sums up the record best with a completely pathetic Carsesque tune that sucks whether it's intended as homage or just straight up Cars theft. It really is just astounding how bad this record is - how lacking in zip and pop smarts, fancy wordplay or even a hint of that Weezeresque quirkiness. If the nomenclature of the Weezer legacy remains true to form, Make Believe will be remembered as the "Drab" album.

In view of the pattern I outlined above, only a fool would write Weezer off before hearing their next release, for now I'll simply join in the mourning, with the myriad other fans chanting the solemn vigil "Say It Ain't So."