COUNTRY
Jason Aldean, "Old Boots, New Dirt" (Broken Bow)
It's a thin line between simple and plain, and Aldean walks it with his new album. Unlike his previous albums, there's no flirting with hip-hop here. There's no flashy duet with Kelly Clarkson. This is straight-up country, with only tinges of the bro-country that Aldean helped create. There's none of the pop or rock flourishes that his Nashville pals have been using.
Instead, the "New Dirt" he offers is built on love songs and tales about boots and trucks. As much as Aldean likes a party, he's at his best with country ballads. "Tryin' to Love Me" is a smash-in-waiting. The same goes for "Miss That Girl," a dramatic ballad that hooks you on first listen. That may help Aldean with country radio. However, there are times — especially in "Don't Change Gone" and "Too Fast" — when the simplicity of the lyrics and his delivery make the song seem too ordinary.
Luckily, he does keep the crazy "If My Truck Could Talk," an ode to his pickup that quickly turns murderous. It's a sign he's not taking everything quite as seriously as "Old Boots, New Dirt" seems.
Glenn Gamboa, Newsday
POP/ROCK
Weezer, "Everything Will Be Alright in the End" (Republic)
Weezer and its songwriter/frontman, Rivers Cuomo, have always wrapped worries and vulnerabilities in brash, succinct rock tunes: power pop with the distortion cranked up. On Weezer's ninth CD, the melodies are as strong as the misgivings. And vice versa.
Twenty years after the release of Weezer's debut album, Cuomo stares down a situation that most long-running acts try to ignore: a band's midcareer crisis as youth fades, radio styles change, fans prefer nostalgia and cynical self-consciousness sets in. On the first single from the new album, a two-chord hard-rock stomp called "Back to the Shack," Cuomo sets out his current plan: "Kick in the door, more hardcore/Rockin' out like it's '94."
