Weepin’ over Weezer

On March 1, Weezer released their 13th album titled Weezer (Black Album) and it can be summed up by these two lines from the song “I’m Just Being Honest,” the sixth track of the album, “I listened to it, but halfway through it/ I had to quit, your band sounds like shit.” I wish I could’ve stopped listening, but I had to write this review.

This album is a disappointment, to say the least.

As a long-time Weezer fan, I am still waiting for one of their albums to come close to Weezer (Blue Album) released in 1994, but this one was probably the farthest thing from Blue Album and the most disappointing of all.

Instead of passionate vocals and real instruments, Black Album is filled with nonsense lyrics, average vocals and electronic background noises.

The album has an okay start with “Can’t Knock the Hustle,” a repetitious, catchy song with no actual substance.

Then, however, it takes a turn for the worse, when it transitions to “Zombie Bastards,” where they continuously repeat “Die, die, you zombie bastards” while having a pop, light-hearted sound to it. After listening to this song, I lost all hope. And I was right.

This album is filled with 10 songs, ranging from mediocre to horrendous, that I would be completely fine with never hearing again. And, believe me, I won’t.   

There are some glimpses of old Weezer, with some strong vocals and storytelling, but they are mostly overshadowed by a pop sounding band who doesn’t know how to write music anymore.

The last song of the album, “California Love,” is the most unique of all the songs. It combines some aspects of old Weezer, with good vocals and some meaningful lyrics, while also having electronic noises, and what sounds like rap.

This album was an attempt to revamp their sound, but ultimately it was a failed attempt indicating that they have run out of ideas for writing songs.