# Hurley (album)
**Hurley** is the eighth studio album by the American rock band Weezer, released on September 14, 2010, through [Epitaph Records](https://www.edgepedia.org/epitaph-records), the band's first album for that label and its first release after leaving a major-label contract.[1](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/14652-hurley/) • [2](https://www.allmusic.com/album/hurley-mw0002031815) Its cover is a close-up photograph of the actor [Jorge Garcia](https://www.edgepedia.org/jorge-garcia), who played Hugo "Hurley" Reyes on the television series *Lost*, and the album takes its title from that character.[3](https://www.spinmagazine.com/2010/08/qa-rivers-cuomo-weezer/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Artist / album | Weezer's eighth studio album, released September 14, 2010[1](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/14652-hurley/) |
| Label | Epitaph Records, Weezer's first record for the label[1](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/14652-hurley/) |
| Length and tracks | 33:52 across 10 tracks; the Deluxe Edition adds four tracks, including a cover of Coldplay's "Viva la Vida"[2](https://www.allmusic.com/album/hurley-mw0002031815) |
| Cover and title | A photograph of Jorge Garcia, who played Hugo "Hurley" Reyes on *Lost*[3](https://www.spinmagazine.com/2010/08/qa-rivers-cuomo-weezer/) |
| Lead single | "Memories", a nostalgic song about the band's earlier years[1](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/14652-hurley/) |
| Critical reception | Metascore of 68 from 28 critic reviews (15 positive, 12 mixed, 1 negative); user score 7.2[4](https://www.metacritic.com/music/hurley/weezer) |
| Recording locations | Hurley Studios (Costa Mesa, CA), Red Bull Studios (Santa Monica, CA), The Banff Centre (Alberta, Canada), and studios in Los Angeles and Santa Monica[2](https://www.allmusic.com/album/hurley-mw0002031815) |
## Title and cover
The title and cover drew attention before the album's release. Frontman [Rivers Cuomo](https://www.edgepedia.org/rivers-cuomo) told SPIN that the band had struggled to find a title, considering phrases such as "Heavy Mental" and "Smaller than Life", before settling on the name after he met Jorge Garcia and took a photograph with him: "he just has this amazing vibe and his expression in that photo seemed so right, so we just called it Hurley."[3](https://www.spinmagazine.com/2010/08/qa-rivers-cuomo-weezer/) In a Pitchfork interview he said the band wanted to use the picture of Garcia's face and expected listeners to call it the Hurley record regardless.[5](https://pitchfork.com/news/39699-weezer-reveal-ridiculous-album-cover/)
A different account came from within the band. Guitarist [Brian Bell](https://www.edgepedia.org/brian-bell) told ABC News that the album was named after the Hurley clothing company, saying the company had funded the album during recording.[6](https://abcnews.com/WN/weezer-releases-hurley-rivers-cuomo-world-news-conversation/story?id=11593349) Cuomo publicly denied a sponsorship arrangement, telling NME that the band had not "sold out" by naming the album after a clothing brand.[7](https://www.nme.com/news/music/weezer-67-1287268)
## Music and songwriting
Hurley continues the co-writing approach Cuomo began on 2009's Raditude. He wrote eight of the ten standard-edition songs with a wide range of collaborators: professional songsmiths [Linda Perry](https://www.edgepedia.org/linda-perry) and [Desmond Child](https://www.edgepedia.org/desmond-child), former college-rock figures [Dan Wilson](https://www.edgepedia.org/dan-wilson) and Ryan Adams, No Doubt bassist Tony Kanal, Rick Nowels, and, on the closer "Time Flies", the country songwriter Mac Davis.[2](https://www.allmusic.com/album/hurley-mw0002031815) The Guardian's Michael Hann read the reliance on co-writers-for-hire as a sign of Cuomo's strained inspiration.[8](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2010/sep/17/weezer-hurley-cd-review)
The opening track and lead single, "Memories", looks back on the band's life in the 1990s, with lines recalling "playin' hacky sack back when Audioslave was still Rage".[1](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/14652-hurley/) • [8](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2010/sep/17/weezer-hurley-cd-review) Other tracks include "Ruling Me", co-written with Dan Wilson and cited by several reviewers as a highlight; "Trainwrecks", built on a hypnotic synthesizer; the joke songs "Where's My Sex?" and "Smart Girls"; the ballads "Run Away" and "Hang On"; and the closer "Time Flies", which ends with a bass-drum heartbeat cutting off into the sound of a ticking clock.[2](https://www.allmusic.com/album/hurley-mw0002031815) • [9](https://www.cuindependent.com/2010/10/06/album-review-hurley/) The Deluxe Edition adds four tracks, among them an orchestral cover of Coldplay's "[Viva la Vida](https://www.edgepedia.org/viva-la-vida)", "All My Friends Are Insects", and "I Want to Be Something".[2](https://www.allmusic.com/album/hurley-mw0002031815) • [9](https://www.cuindependent.com/2010/10/06/album-review-hurley/)
## Context in Weezer's career
Hurley followed a run of albums, from [Make Believe](https://www.edgepedia.org/make-believe-weezer-album) (2005) through Raditude (2009), that divided the band's audience, and it arrived after Weezer completed a seven-record major-label contract.[10](https://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/38980/Weezer-Hurley/) Reviewers framed it as a partial return to the band's 1990s sound: Pitchfork's Ian Cohen called it a noticeable "return to form" and the band's best album since at least [Maladroit](https://www.edgepedia.org/maladroit) (2002), while noting it was still not a return to 1990s Weezer.[1](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/14652-hurley/) AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine described it as marginally louder and rougher than Raditude but not a punk rebirth.[2](https://www.allmusic.com/album/hurley-mw0002031815) NME gave it 4 out of 5 and called it "a return to form in a huge way".[11](https://www.nme.com/reviews/reviews-weezer-11610-324374)
Reception was mixed overall. On Metacritic the album scored 68, based on 28 critic reviews, with 15 positive, 12 mixed, and 1 negative.[4](https://www.metacritic.com/music/hurley/weezer) The Guardian was unfavorable, calling "Memories" and "Ruling Me" the standouts and dismissing "Where's My Sex?" outright.[8](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2010/sep/17/weezer-hurley-cd-review) A recurring critical split ran between the album's power-pop craft, which even hostile reviews acknowledged in "Ruling Me" and "Hang On", and its comedic lyrics, which Pitchfork called the album's main weakness.[1](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/14652-hurley/)
## Release details
The album runs 33:52 and was recorded across six listed studios in California and Alberta, including Hurley Studios in Costa Mesa and Red Bull Studios in Santa Monica.[2](https://www.allmusic.com/album/hurley-mw0002031815) It was released on CD by Epitaph (catalog number 87126), with a Japanese pressing carrying the catalog number EICP-1430.[12](https://musicbrainz.org/release-group/ea409819-578d-45c8-9c40-f8667921868a)
## References
1. [Ian Cohen, "Weezer: Hurley Album Review", Pitchfork, September 17, 2010](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/14652-hurley/)
2. [Stephen Thomas Erlewine, "Hurley Review", AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/album/hurley-mw0002031815)
3. [Peter Gaston, "Q&A: Rivers Cuomo of Weezer", SPIN, August 10, 2010](https://www.spinmagazine.com/2010/08/qa-rivers-cuomo-weezer/)
4. ["Hurley by Weezer", Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/music/hurley/weezer)
5. ["Weezer Reveal Ridiculous Album Cover", Pitchfork, August 9, 2010](https://pitchfork.com/news/39699-weezer-reveal-ridiculous-album-cover/)
6. ["The Conversation: Weezer's Rivers Cuomo", ABC News, September 9, 2010](https://abcnews.com/WN/weezer-releases-hurley-rivers-cuomo-world-news-conversation/story?id=11593349)
7. ["Weezer at Leeds Festival: 'We have not sold out over Hurley'", NME, August 31, 2010](https://www.nme.com/news/music/weezer-67-1287268)
8. [Michael Hann, "Weezer: Hurley", The Guardian, September 16, 2010](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2010/sep/17/weezer-hurley-cd-review)
9. ["Album review: Hurley", CU Independent, October 6, 2010](https://www.cuindependent.com/2010/10/06/album-review-hurley/)
10. ["Weezer - Hurley", Sputnikmusic, September 7, 2010](https://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/38980/Weezer-Hurley/)
11. [Rob Parker, "Album Review: Weezer - Hurley", NME, October 1, 2010](https://www.nme.com/reviews/reviews-weezer-11610-324374)
12. ["Release group Hurley by Weezer", MusicBrainz](https://musicbrainz.org/release-group/ea409819-578d-45c8-9c40-f8667921868a)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musical works and recordings › Albums and recorded releases › Studio albums › Indie and alternative albums › Studio albums of the 2010s*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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