It's tough to follow up a good album, let alone a legendary one.

Weezer has spent the last 10 years trying to live up to the monumental success of its 1994 self-titled debut album, and whether or not the band has been successful in doing so depends on whom you ask.

To say that Weezer hasn't made interesting progress since "Buddy Holly" and "Undone-The Sweater Song" commanded the airwaves is absurd. The band's second album Pinkerton, is often hailed as the band's best work; however its initial poor reception and failure to spawn singles that could stand beside anything on its first album still has front man Rivers Cuomo wondering what went wrong. Weezer then took a five-year hiatus before releasing its third album, also self-titled, which was highly overrated due to the fact that fans and critics were so happy to see Cuomo breathe life into Weezer again. The songs on the record were textbook pop songs, but once again, nothing even close to as memorable as "Only in Dreams."

During the band's hiatus, Cuomo apparently had accumulated quite a catalog of new material that resulted in the band's fourth album, Maladroit, being rushed into stores only a year later.

Maladroit was very Pinkerton-esque in that it was a much more artistic, experimental kind of album than the other two more focused, straightforward albums.

Weezer's newest release, Make Believe, picks up where Maladroit left off. The guys spent a little more time on this one, and it shows.

A lot of the stuff on Make Believe sounds like what the band might have come up with had they thought about Maldroit more instead of trying to rush another release into stores. The album begins with "Beverly Hills," the first single from this effort, and quite possibly the worst song that Weezer has ever put on a record. The bouncy, pop song with a faster version of the beat to Queen's "We Will Rock You" has samples of girls yelling, and a really stupid chorus; "Beverly Hills/that's where I want to be/Beverly Hills/living like a celebrity," Cuomo sings. The song is such an obvious point of sale that it's ridiculous, but the band's hard work shows through on the rest the album. "Perfect Situation" is a wonderful emotional rocker with a soaring lead guitar line provided by Cuomo and very prominent piano that provide the rhythm for the verses before the band's signature harder chorus kicks in.

"This is Such a Pity" showcases a different aspect of the band's sound. It features synth-keyboards and some very epic guitar work by Cuomo reminiscent of, well, take your pick of just about any '80s rock anthem.

Cuomo's songs often contain melancholy lyrics, but he finally sounds like he means them for the first time since Pinkerton.

"Peace" sounds like a genuine, heartfelt yearning for peace in Cuomo's life and "The Damage in Your Heart" is a great emotional song of encouragement. The first eight tracks of the album leave you wondering if Weezer forgot how to rock, but then the band answers with a resounding NO in the form of track nine, the fast-tempo, loud guitar-layered "My Best Friend."

The band ventures into the strange with "We Are All on Drugs," a song about, well, I think it's pretty self-explanatory, and "Freak Me Out," a song that Cuomo could quite possibly be singing about himself, which features a short harmonica solo. The album closes with the eerie "Haunt You Everyday," another tune that features the quiet piano verse-loud guitar chorus formula. Cuomo sings about being insane and leaving someone, perhaps a half-Japanese girl that does it to him every time?

"So alone in love/ I'm going to haunt you every day," Cuomo sings.

Overall, Make Believe is a great progression for Weezer. The band's third album was trying too hard to be as catchy as its first, and Maladroit was trying too hard to be as weird as the beautiful accident, Pinkerton. Make Believe showcases Cuomo finally getting comfortable with Weezer's identity as the record showcases a nice mix of all sounds Weezer has toyed with over the past 10 years and even pushed them a little further by adding piano and keyboards to the mix. The songs themselves are good, for the most part, but nothing really fits into the "you will still be singing this song when you are 50" category. If only they can re-capture the magic of 1994.

Only in dreams, I guess.