In 1995, a little garage band snuck into the collective consciousness of American pop culture with a quirky song about an old sweater. With the release of their sophomore effort, Pinkerton (DGC), Weezer sets out to prove that their debut was more than a flash in the alternative rock pan.

Weezer, a rather straightforward, uncomplicated rock album, drew comparisons to almost every "modern rock" band on the airwaves. "Their lyrics are quirky like They Might Be Giants." "Those crunchy guitars have a definite grunge influence." And on... and on... and on. In the end, Weezer proved to be their own band, and many critics now site them as an influence to new groups. This signature sound appealed to many, but it really boiled down to a lot of loud guitar strumming with the occasional melody thrown in for good measure. Their style was not particularly sophisticated or musically credible.

Pinkerton, however, marks a subtle departure from the band's rough garage band origins. On this album, Weezer experiments with different compositions, test-drives new musical styles and stretches singer Rivers Cuomo's vocals just a little bit more. The result is a more interesting and musically viable work that better showcases the band's abilities.

The record is the brainchild of Cuomo's slightly off-center imagination. Each song appears on the album in the order it was written, and the result is a movingly honest body of work that details Cuomo's struggles with love and masculinity. Either because of the personal nature of the piece or Cuomo's own professional growth, his vocals are infinitely more varied and emotional than they were on Weezer.

Cuomo's songwriting also seems to have undergone a period of maturation. While his earlier efforts were cute at best and juvenile at worst, Pinkerton features a funnier, fresher, more honest collection of his universally understandable observations of human nature. At his finest, Cuomo achieves sublime bitterness, as in "Why Bother," and wacky hilarity with "El Scorcho" and "The Good Life."

Matt Sharp, founder of The Rentals and god of Moog synthesizers, seems to have lent more than just his bass playing to this record. His nostalgically synthetic creative bent infiltrates the majority of the songs. The opening strains of several tracks seem to be lifted directly from his geek-chic side project, The Return of the Rentals. This helps Pinkerton achieve its more evolved creativity.

Drummer Pat Wilson's rhythm section provides a tight backbone for the album's songs. His talent is showcased on the foreground of "Getchoo" and the edgy "Across the Sea." Unlike Weezer, Pinkerton allows Wilson more artistic freedom and more opportunities to be heard. The result is a more cohesive collection of songs and some truly unique bridges.

Bell and Cuomo have not strayed too far from their original style of simple, raunchy, messy guitar pounding. If anything, the two have taken this to an even further extreme with louder riffs and sloppier chords. While at first distracting, the hard veneer eventually gives way to reveal the vulnerably neurotic heart of Weezer's songs-love hurts, commitment isn't easy, trust is hard to come by.

Essentially, Weezer is a band that is growing and evolving. It tries to experiment with new style elements and less bubblegum lyrics, but, at the same time, it is obvious that Weezer is trying very hard not to alienate its original fans. The result is a more mature work, but not necessarily a great work. Unfortunately, the band is still not living up to the potential talent of its members.

Beneath the mucky guitar noise, occasional gems glitter on this album. Cuomo tackles a potentially touchy subject in "Pink Triangle," which recounts Cuomo's discovery of the girl of his dreams-only to find out that she's a lesbian. He handles the story with his typical quirkiness: "I'm dumb/ She's a lesbian/ I thought I had found the one/ We were good as married in my mind/ But married in my mind's no good."

On "Fall for You," the band explores an entirely different sound with a Beatlesque melody and chorus. The furthest departure is featured on the album's last track, "Butterfly." This entirely acoustic is a heartbreakingly intimate metaphor for parental love.

It is on these tracks that listeners get an inkling of the potential talent of the group. Perhaps the next album will finally realize the greatness that Weezer's members can achieve. While Weezer was mediocre at best, Pinkerton is a creative and noteworthy attempt. However, it is not the best that the band can do, nor is it a truly great album.