After a few years of hints about the release of a black album, it’s finally here. March 1, 2019 marked the release date of the long-awaited music from the talented quartet. The Black Album has dropped with some mixed reviews from music critics and Weezer fans, nonetheless it is worthy of discussion. Let’s start with the good first.
Robert Oliver at Drowned in Sound stated “This is a unique addition to Weezer’s discography that sees them preparing for the future, however bleak and overwhelming it might seem.” Aaron Mook of Chorus.fm reacted positively, writing, “The Black Album feels surprisingly genuine for the aging pop-rockers, brimming with new sounds, bold production choices from TV on the Radio’s Dave Sitek, and most importantly, honest reflection on how the world has turned and left the band following their return to relevancy.”
In a negative review, Corey van den Hoogenband at Exclaim! stated “Weezer’s latest is an utterly skippable collection that’d be entirely unremarkable if not for the fact it was released by Weezer.” Linday Teske from Consequence of Sound noted that while the album is “not completely void of redeeming qualities”, has opined “While it is absolutely no crime for a band to flirt with sonic experimentation, a disastrous affair can brew when the flirtation results in a body of work that is far more two-dimensional and hollow than what the band have proven capable of doing through their decades of previous work.”
While I respect the opinions of music critics, I’m not sure if I want to weigh in and allow my words to be the reason a reader unfamiliar with Weezer might choose to listen, or not. Therefore, I will reserve my opinion of the album until the close of this post. For those readers who have not heard of Weezer, or their music, allow me to introduce the band by way of a sample of their history.
Vocalist and lead guitarist Rivers Cuomo, drummer Patrick Wilson, bassist Matt Sharp and guitarist Jason Cropper formed Weezer in Los Angeles, CA, in 1992. After that, things developed very fast for Weezer compared to other bands breaking in the industry. The band signed with Geffen Records on June 25, 1993, and recorded their début album with producer Ric Ocasek at Electric Lady Studios in New York City. During the recording, Cropper left the band and was replaced by guitarist Brian Bell. Their début album Weezer (referred to as the “Blue Album”) was released in May 1994. Geffen originally did not wish to release a single, to see what sales could be generated by word-of-mouth alone. DJ Marco Collins of the Seattle radio station The End started playing “Undone – The Sweater Song”, leading Geffen to release it as the first single. The music video was directed by Spike Jonze. Filmed in an unbroken take, it featured Weezer performing on a sound stage with little action, bar a pack of dogs swarming the set. The video became an instant hit on MTV.
Jonze also directed Weezer’s second video, “Buddy Holly”, splicing the band with footage from the 1970s television sitcom Happy Days. The video achieved heavy rotation on MTV and went on to win four MTV Video Music Awards, including Breakthrough Video and Best Alternative Music Video, and two Billboard Music Video Awards. It was this video that was the first time I took notice of Weezer. The video was a brilliant concept, and the song quite catchy. It was good enough that I’ve followed the band’s work over twenty-five years.
Initially, I thought Weezer’s music was clever, quirky kind of hard rock. However, twenty-five years has a way of helping a band find different musical ideas. Weezer has been described as alternative rock, power pop, pop rock, pop punk, emo, indie rock, emo pop, geek rock, melodic metal, and pop. The members of Weezer have listed several influences, among them Kiss, Nirvana (who were labelmates of the band at DGC for a very brief time before Kurt Cobain’s death), the Pixies, the Cars (Ric Ocasek has even produced several of Weezer’s records), Pavement, Oasis, The Smashing Pumpkins, Green Day and Wax. Cuomo credited the Beach Boys as a major influence. I think you can hear similarities to the Beach Boys throughout their recordings.
The interesting fact now is that other popular bands like Blink-182 and DNCE list Weezer as an influence upon their music. Yes, time has a way of bringing everything full circle. That band of young musicians managed to hang around and make a lot of music along the way. Now they have delivered their thirteenth studio album, Weezer (the Black album).
Along the way Weezer has delivered some memorable music. The Green Album is a favorite of music critics and Weezer fans alike, where it has since sold over 1.6 million copies. Three singles were released from the album: “Hash Pipe”, “Island in the Sun”, and “Photograph”. “Hash Pipe” was a worldwide modern rock hit, charting on seven different charts, despite their record label’s reluctance to release it as the first single. Even the experimental sounds of the Red Album was well-received by fans and critics alike. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic called the album “A cheerfully restless record, one where all the parts don’t fit and it’s better because of it, as it has a wild, willing personality, suggesting that Weezer is comfortable as a band in a way they never quite have been before.”
Time will tell how the Black Album will be viewed in history. Because of the less than enthusiastic response from the music critics, the album could be viewed like 2005’s Make Believe. Though not a favorite of writers, Make Believe enjoyed great commercial success. The album’s first single, “Beverly Hills”, became a hit in the U.S. and worldwide, staying on the charts for several months after its release. It became the first Weezer song to hit No. 1 on the Billboard Modern Rock chart. To date, Make Believe remains Weezer’s highest ranked album on the chart.
Should you listen to the Black Album? Absolutely! Is it the best Weezer album after twenty-five years? I don’t think so. However, it certainly is good enough to stream or download. Even the hardcore Weezer fan will not just toss the Black Album aside. It is here now. A permanent part of a full library of music delivered by Weezer to us all. Above all, the Black Album deserves respect.