Weezer seem intent to make up for lost time. They may have let five years elapse between the release of their second album, Pinkerton (1996), and their third disc, last year's Weezer (a.k.a. the Green Album), but now they're working at full boil.

They've just posted 13 demos on their Web site, many of which will likely resurface on their next record, due April 30. For those keeping score, that's two albums in 11 months.

The songs are punchy and spirited, packed with buzzing guitars, memorable pop hooks and enough "woo-woo" background vocals to fill a Rolling Stones box set. They display a variety of musical styles including power-pop, punk, metal and alternative with crisp guitar rhythms, tight playing and a surprisingly clean recording quality, even if some of Rivers Cuomo's vocals are a bit shaky — slightly off key or mixed inappropriately.

"Your Room" features crunchy, chugging guitar chords capped by a lick reminiscent of Judas Priest. As the vocals kick in, the song segues into a series of elongated chords and single ringing notes that contrast with the brutish intro.

"Keep Fishin" starts off with a marching rhythm that sounds like Green Day's "Minority," then lifts off with a head-bobbing vocal and Beatles-y harmonies. "How Long?" is ebullient guitar pop a la Material Issue glazed with a hint of sadness and a whiny chorus that holds tinges of the Cure's Robert Smith. And "Take Control" balances a full-fisted riff and stealthy groove with yearning vocals.

Lyrically, almost all the new songs confront good love gone bad. But while Cuomo seems stung by past relationships, he never gushes with bitterness; his words are wistful, but not crestfallen. On "Your Room" he laments, "You're coming up worlds away/ There's nothing that I can say/ And all of these games you play/ Will lead you to your room." And on "How Long?" he croons, "Holdin' onto a song/ I guess it's time we passed it on/ 'Cause one of us keeps changing every day/ How long before we turn/ To let love fly away/ Before we turn to live another day."

Regardless of how his music seems colored by puppy love that bit the hand that fed it, at the core Cuomo remains a hopeless romantic. In "December," a '50s love ballad colored with sizzling guitars, he asserts, "Only love can ease the pain/ Of a boy caught in the rain." And on the Ramones-inspired "Possibilities" he sings, "Let me be the man in your arms/ I never thought I'd do that/ Take me all the way/ And let your body say/ 'Oh, you're gonna stay.' "

Other demos posted on the band's site include "Dope Nose," "Slave," "Porcupine," "Sandwiches Time," "American Gigolo," "Don't Pick on Me" and "Listen Up."

Weezer recorded many of the songs in a Washington, D.C., studio with bassist Mikey Welsh mere weeks after the band's last album was released (see "Weezer Breeze Through 12 Demos For Next LP"). Welsh left the band in August to check into a psychiatric hospital for an undisclosed problem (see "Weezer Bassist Checks Into Psychiatric Hospital"). Weezer temporarily replaced Welsh with Scott Shriner for their tour (see "Weezer Pick Temp Replacement For Mikey Welsh") and tested some of the new material on the road with Tenacious D and Jimmy Eat World (see "Weezer, Tenacious D, Jimmy Eat World Map Out Midget Tour ").

The band will soon enter a Hollywood studio to record its fourth record, a spokesperson for Weezer's label said (see "Weezer Continue To Hammer Away At New LP")