After 30 years as a band, Weezer has finally moved past the experimental phases that defined their recent output. Following a series of concept records, pandemic-era orchestral projects, and the sprawling SZNZ series, the band has decided to scrap the gimmicks and return to the business of making straightforward rock music. Their seventh self-titled effort, Weezer (Gold Album), finds the quartet—Rivers Cuomo, Patrick Wilson, and company—attempting to reconcile their legacy with the realities of their current lives.
A Return to Form
To facilitate this shift, the band enlisted producers Klas Åhlund and Kenneth Blume. The recording process marked a departure from their recent habits; the group recorded in a room together, cranking amplifiers and eschewing click tracks to capture a more visceral, “violent” sound. Notably, drummer Patrick Wilson returned to the songwriting fray, collaborating with Cuomo on several tracks, including the lead single “Shine Again.” This song serves as a thematic anchor for the album, a stomping reflection on the tedium of life and the desire to feel that youthful spark once more.
The Weight of Aging
The album is at its most compelling when it leans into the specific indignities of being in the back half of one’s 50s. Tracks like “C.E.O.” and “Don’t Make It Weird” explore themes of industry frustration, chronic brain fog, and the existential dread of feeling “washed.” The collaboration with Karly Hartzman of Wednesday on “We Might as Well Be Strangers” stands out as a highlight, offering a poignant look at the distance that grows between people as they age.
A Complicated Legacy
Despite these moments of vulnerability, the album occasionally falls into the trap of sounding like the grievances of successful men unwilling to take responsibility for their own circumstances. Songs like “Nowhere” and “Hoops” struggle to balance nostalgia with a sense of purpose, sometimes feeling like the complaints of a friend who only calls to vent. However, the record concludes with two tracks that serve as powerful testimonials to the band’s early days. “The Show Must Go On” and “The LA Sound” are energized, tender, and honest, suggesting that while Weezer may never fully recapture the magic of their youth, they are at their best when they stop trying to force it and simply tell their own story.