Weezer Return To Indie-Rock Roots With New Album

Weezer have announced plans to release a new studio album entitled Hurley this September 14th on Epitaph Records. Starting today, fans are invited to pre-order the physical album now at EpitaphStore.com or on Amazon.com. The album's first single, "Memories," can be streamed now at MySpace.com/Weezer and purchased on iTunes.

The band have inked a deal with leading independent label Epitaph Records signaling the next phase of their career and the return to their indie roots with a highly personal and sonically exploratory album. "So far we've had a really good creative collaboration with Brett Gurewitz and the other people at the label, and I'm looking forward to collaboration with other like-minded alternative music fans at the label," says frontman Rivers Cuomo.

"I've been a fan of Weezer from the beginning, and I've loved all their records," says Epitaph president and founder Gurewitz. "So it's amazing to find myself working with them on the new one!"

"Weezer is a great band," adds labelmate and Rancid frontman Tim Armstrong. "I'm stoked they're going to be part of the Epitaph family."

Produced by Cuomo and Shawn Everett (Raditude, Phantom Planet, Ozomatli), Hurley is a high-energy rock album that wastes no time with the first single "Memories," an impassioned look at nostalgia with fast tempo, buzzing guitar riffs and killer hooky chorus. Subsequent songs include "Ruling Me," "Trainwrecks," "Hang On" and "Brave New World." Rivers picks up the acoustic guitar on the reinvented power ballad "Unspoken" and the raw Sixties-influenced, Mac Davis co-written "Time Flies." The classic Weezer sound is reignited with songs like "Smart Girls," "Run Away" and the quirky "Where's My Sex?" Fueled by a new-found sense of independence, Hurley finds the band making some of the most powerful and adventuresome music of their storied career.

"We all felt that the really intense, raw emotional side of Weezer is what's going to make everyone the happiest at this moment," comments Cuomo. "Weezer's become a totally kick ass live band, and when we were making Hurley you could just hear the sound of people going into the studio, pressing 'Record' and rocking. There's just an insane amount of energy on songs like ‘Where's My Sex' or 'Memories.'"

Known for their quirky album artwork, Weezer have done it yet again. The cover features a simple, yet astonishing close-up of actor Jorge Garcia, which fans of the Lost series will no-doubt find as perplexing as fascinating.

"We struggled super hard trying to come up with an album title, trying to find some kind of phrase that summed up the whole aesthetic behind the album: 'Heavy Mental,' 'Smaller Than Life,'" Cuomo said. "I was coming up with all kinds of stuff, but ultimately, we just went with some random word that doesn't really have anything to do with anything. I just loved this photo of Jorge Garcia—it just had this amazing vibe. We didn't want to do a fourth self-titled record and we knew people would refer to it as 'the Hurley record' even if left it without that title, so we just called it Hurley. No words are on the cover because all we wanted was his amazing face."

Hurley Track Listing (Standard Edition):

• 1. Memories - 3:16
• 2. Ruling Me - 3:30
• 3. Trainwrecks - 3:21
• 4. Unspoken - 3:01
• 5. Where's My Sex? - 3:28
• 6. Run Away - 2:55
• 7. Hang On - 3:33
• 8. Smart Girls - 3:11
• 9. Brave New World - 3:57
• 10. Time Flies - 4:04

Hurley Track Listing (Deluxe Edition):
1. Memories - 3:16
2. Ruling Me - 3:30
3. Trainwrecks - 3:21
4. Unspoken - 3:01
5. Where's My Sex? - 3:28
6. Run Away - 2:55
7. Hang On - 3:33
8. Smart Girls - 3:11
9. Brave New World - 3:57
10. Time Flies - 4:04
11. All My Friends Are Insects - 1:53
12. Viva La Vida - 4:06
13. I Want To Be Something - 2:56
14. Represent - 4:13

Weezer Tour Dates:

8/14 - Council Bluffs, IA - Westfair Amphitheater
8/15 - Commerce City, CO - Mile High Music Festival
8/21 - Del Mar, CA - Del Mar Raceway
9/1 - Allentown, PA - The Great Allentown Fair
9/2 - Essex Junction, VT - Champlain Valley Exposition
9/4 - Edmonton, AB - Sonic Boom Festival
9/5 - Seattle, WA - Bumbershoot Festival