Brian Bell Has New Relationship While Mystery Swirls Around Weezer

Weezer aren't touring or officially recording, and have announced no concrete plans to do either, so guitarist Brian Bell is using the internet to post material from his side project, The Relationship.

Bell debuted The Relationship last December in Salt Lake City, Utah. The band feature Bell on guitar and vocals, guitarist Nate Shaw, U.S. Bombs drummer Jamie Reidling and former Freewheelers member Luther Russell on backing vocals and bass.

The Relationship have posted nearly a dozen songs on their MySpace page in recent months, putting up new ones while taking others down. The songs available now are "Something More," "Together Tomorrow," "Ugly Things" and "Hand To Hold," a reworked version of a cut called "Private Message" that Weezer lead singer Rivers Cuomo recorded as a demo in 2002 but never officially released.

The songs are reportedly all being recorded at Bell's home studio in Los Angeles on an analogue eight-track machine. Other songs include "Amy Magazine," "In Love With Love," "Will I Ever See Her" and "Are You Gonna Be."

Although there are no guest artists confirmed, Sean Lennon recently stated that he'd appear on the as-yet untitled album.

Although nothing has been announced, speculation continues to grow about whether Weezer are working on a new album. Producer Rick Rubin said earlier this year that he'd been receiving new demos from Cuomo that would go toward a new record. "Pig," a track Cuomo mentioned in a 2006 interview that he had been working on, leaked online last month. Fans have also discovered that the Album Six website linked directly to Weezer's main website. The group's potential next album would follow 2005's Make Believe and be their sixth studio effort.