Cool Album of the Week: Weezer - Weezer (Black Album)
My new post is definitely a divisive one! The band people are now calling "the once great," Weezer sidesteps expectations on their most forward-thinking album in years. I know I'm crazy for arguing with a Metacritic score of 57/100, but this album is certainly far less skippable and forgettable than the reviews suggest. Don't let the internet fool you! Check it out - - - - - - - - - - -
To begin, I will admit this is definitely the worst of the amazing self-titled Weezer albums. Excluding their recent "teal" album of cover songs (which you shouldn't really count in their discography anyways), the Weezer albums of Weezer's career have always represented wonderful moments of inspiration, chartering distinctive courses in their career with each new release. However, while this may not stand up to those other masterworks, it incredibly stands as an equal to the best of the other, non-colored albums of Weezer's records. From this point, it's basically up to the listener to decide whether this fact is impressive or disappointing for a band 25 years into their career.
Black Album does accomplish something that all the other self-tilted albums have done for the band: mark a new era for Weezer. With this new release, main songwriter and frontman Rivers Cuomo has fully realized this new place for the band's current state. Each has successively compiled a new set of succinct tracks that distinguish Weezer in a new light - where the first (Blue) defined their signature blend of heavy/catchy/geeky, the next (green) self-titled album showed they hadn't lost their tight song construction abilities after the kaleidoscope of Pinkerton. The next ones (red, white) continued this refocusing with subtle shifts going into the band's middle age: the first with a loosened and lively attitude, and followed more recently by a throwback to the 90s.
The need for reconvening and re-establishing themselves seems odd for the biggest cult-rock band of the 2000s, but it shows the restlessness of a band that strides the line between the in-group and the outsiders. The lingering peculiarity of Weezer persists in all their albums, even in albums generally tending towards streamlined pop (think Raditude or Pacific Daydream, which feel intentionally alienating to the older fans). Listeners who lived through Weezer's entire career are the most familiar with this peculiarity - not one Weezer album has received unanimously great reviews upon its initial release. The first two records especially have gone through some of the biggest cult revivals of the 2000s. Even through the medium of tightly constructed pop songs, Weezer has always found their fanbase years after each album's release.
This 2019 release will definitely grow on its listeners since it's easily their most concise release since Weezer (2016). Whereas Pacific Daydream and The Teal Album used modernity and nostalgia in their most abstract forms, this album seems fully realized and intentional, with each song establishing their goal of "sunny darkness." The surface details show a drastic shift, but the music is as self-aware as Weezer has ever been. Not once does Black Album seem trendy or fashionable - instead it relies on pop culture through an almost experimental take. Of course, the songs themselves are as lively as ever, but I understand the backlash that they will definitely receive.
To begin, I will admit this is definitely the worst of the amazing self-titled Weezer albums. Excluding their recent "teal" album of cover songs (which you shouldn't really count in their discography anyways), the Weezer albums of Weezer's career have always represented wonderful moments of inspiration, chartering distinctive courses in their career with each new release. However, while this may not stand up to those other masterworks, it incredibly stands as an equal to the best of the other, non-colored albums of Weezer's records. From this point, it's basically up to the listener to decide whether this fact is impressive or disappointing for a band 25 years into their career.
Black Album does accomplish something that all the other self-tilted albums have done for the band: mark a new era for Weezer. With this new release, main songwriter and frontman Rivers Cuomo has fully realized this new place for the band's current state. Each has successively compiled a new set of succinct tracks that distinguish Weezer in a new light - where the first (Blue) defined their signature blend of heavy/catchy/geeky, the next (green) self-titled album showed they hadn't lost their tight song construction abilities after the kaleidoscope of Pinkerton. The next ones (red, white) continued this refocusing with subtle shifts going into the band's middle age: the first with a loosened and lively attitude, and followed more recently by a throwback to the 90s.
The need for reconvening and re-establishing themselves seems odd for the biggest cult-rock band of the 2000s, but it shows the restlessness of a band that strides the line between the in-group and the outsiders. The lingering peculiarity of Weezer persists in all their albums, even in albums generally tending towards streamlined pop (think Raditude or Pacific Daydream, which feel intentionally alienating to the older fans). Listeners who lived through Weezer's entire career are the most familiar with this peculiarity - not one Weezer album has received unanimously great reviews upon its initial release. The first two records especially have gone through some of the biggest cult revivals of the 2000s. Even through the medium of tightly constructed pop songs, Weezer has always found their fanbase years after each album's release.
This 2019 release will definitely grow on its listeners since it's easily their most concise release since Weezer (2016). Whereas Pacific Daydream and The Teal Album used modernity and nostalgia in their most abstract forms, this album seems fully realized and intentional, with each song establishing their goal of "sunny darkness." The surface details show a drastic shift, but the music is as self-aware as Weezer has ever been. Not once does Black Album seem trendy or fashionable - instead it relies on pop culture through an almost experimental take. Of course, the songs themselves are as lively as ever, but I understand the backlash that they will definitely receive.
The Verdict:
Every truly striking and experimental album gets bad reviews - I can't defend this too much because it is far from the best of Weezer, but I'd say at least 8 of the ten songs on here are definitely enjoyable. Sometimes a band's boldness and revived attitude about music is enough to pique my interest. I am super curious what the people say, rather than the critics, so please share your opinion with the world! My musical life has basically been defined by friends and the Internet showing me music I never thought I'd like, so I'd take a real opinion of a real human over a biased critic any day.
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