Weezer - (Weezer) The Black Album

Weezer
The Black Album
2019
Spotify

If you asked me if I thought I would be reviewing two new Weezer albums in less than a month I would say you were crazy, yet here we are. It's pretty simple really Weezer have gotten progressively worse as time has gone on. Their music has lost any edge it once had and instead exists in this odd alt-dad-rock zone. Even the Gen Xers are tiring of this played out refrain as Weezer try to infuse their version of rocky with cheeky gimmicks. There was The Teal Album which was some of the most generic covers I have ever heard ushering in this new album surprise released last weekend. The Black Album finds Weezer far removed from their biggest hits, in a free fall of public opinion and unwilling to change. For all his faults the one thing Cuomo wants you to do is get on board with what He is saying. He is desperate for people to understand his message, and He wants you to agree. While some of the more problematic lyrics from Weezer's past come back to haunt them Rivers wants people to know that even thought that may have been him then, it is not him now. He wants to listener to see that Weezer have had an entire life after Pinkerton and The Blue Album. That is the thing Weezer wants fans to understand is that they are allowed to grow up, allowed to change and allowed to not go back to their roots.

This record is light years better than the cover record, which soured me on Weezer more than anything they ahve done before. There are pretty moments here and songs that feel like a punch to the head. "I'm Just Being Honest" feels a lot like vintage Weezer while "Zombie Bastards" is a relentless track. For everyone of those bright and fun tracks though there are others than feel like the exact opposite. "Too Many Thoughts In My Head" sounds just like that, too many thoughts. There are times where Weezer feel like they are just trying too hard, or doing too much, but then there are others where they just slide into the groove and you remember why you liked them in the first place. I mean if you don't think "The Prince Who Wanted Everything" cooks you're just being disingenuous. Where The Teal Album was out of touch and ridiculous, this album finds a lane and sticks with it. As someone who is not the biggest Weezer fan this album really surprised me and left me wanting to hear more. Sure there are some awful songs, "Byzantine", but as a whole The Black Album is not half bad.

7.0 out of 10