Starting with "Beverly Hills," and continuing with the other tracks on this great CD, WEEZER delivers highly enjoyable songs both musically and lyrically. Their thoughtful, smart interpretation of the words with instinctive musicality make them consistent winners.

Thank the geekish rock gods for this one. The Blue Album: Amazing. Pinkerton: Amazing. We all know what happened after that... Dispite some very good individual tracks on The Green Album and Maladroit, they clearly didn't showcase what Weezer could do (I really liked both cd's, to be honest). Make Believe really re-raised the bar, with great tracks like, Perfect Situation(one of my favorites), Hold Me, and We are all on drugs. The second half of the cd is a little weaker, but still catchy. If you dont have this, get it. If you're one of those "Hey I only like Pinkerton and the Blue album fans", get over it. Those two are amazing, hands down the best Wezzer has to offer, but those days are over. We might still blow our car speekers to them, but Wezzers moved on. Oh, and once again this is a great cd =]

Weezer is back! This album is a great little break between Maladroit and TRA. It is so soft it seems more like an intermission for me between two rockin albums. Just because its an intermission doesnt mean it doesnt rock songs like Hold Me Perfect Situation and Peace are all really good. [...]

I remained one of Weezer's bigger defenders through Maladroit, but Make Believe really has me questioning whether Weezer will ever be a relevant and exciting band again.

For those of you not familiar with Weezer's history, here is a rundown: Their first album was a massive hit with a combination of geeky charm and sunny guitar-rock hooks. Their second album was panned by fans and by critics after its release, but it gradually grew a following after time until it was considered a classic about five years after its release. Meanwhile, Weezer had been on the down-low, but decided to come out of their retirement in the wake of their growing legion of fans. The next album contained a few hits but was dismissed by some as a shallow. Similar criticism grew with their next album; people missed the charm, honesty, and quirk of the first two albums. I remained in the growing minority who appreciated Weezer's material and held high hopes for the coming release.

Unfortunately, Make Believe is a step in the wrong direction for the band. Blazing guitar hooks are less prominent than ever and interesting lyrics are essentially nonexistent. From the perspective of Weezer's career, it falls flat; no song matches Dope Nose or Hash Pipe, let alone Buddy Holly or El Scorcho. Even giving the album a fair chance on its own, it doesn't really work. It's too polished to be good alt-rock, too whiny to be good pop, too bright to be good emo.

The best songs on the album are charming on the best of days and annoying on the worst of days. Beverly Hills has its creative moments and a winning chorus, but grows old quick. Self-consciousness and doubt about crushes is a long-recurring theme with songwriter Rivers Cuomo, but when he approaches the topic in Perfect Situation, it just feels tired, in spite of the memorable soaring vocal riff. The best song on the album might be We Are All on Drugs, which rocks hard and shows actual thought on the part of the band.

Weezer displays a new approach and sound on this album that really has the potential to work could work. I would embrace this polished, new-wave feel if only they could write good songs to go along with it. But nearly every track is a snoozer, and so the album and the sound come across as snoozers, too.

I am not a Weezer fan. I had heard Beverly Hills, Island in the Sun, and Buddy Holly before I listened to this album and I was unimpressed with their style, but then from the first chords of the "Perfect Situation" guitar solo I knew that this band was capable of things. The music is definitely softer than their previous work and they were able to nail that soft sound. This album is one that doesn't get lost in my ipod, I just keep listening to it.