Van Weezer

by 
AlbumMay 07 / 202110 songs, 30m 54s
Power Pop Alternative Rock
Popular

In early 2020, Weezer was forced to put the release of the guitar-driven *Van Weezer* on hold when the stadium tour Hella Mega, on which they would share the bill with Green Day and Fall Out Boy, was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The veteran pop-rockers turned inward and decided to release *OK Human* instead—an unplugged orchestral album centered around themes of isolation and feeling alienated that felt more appropriate during lockdown. With the possibility of live shows ever-so-slightly looming on the horizon, they crank the Marshall stack back up and serve fun, gnarly riffs on their second album of 2021. Inspired by their shared love of hard rock and heavy metal bands of the ’70s and ’80s—after all, the album’s title is an obvious nod to Van Halen—the band’s 15th LP offers a nostalgic whiff of guitar histrionics (“Beginning of the End”), stomp-clap anthems à la “Beverly Hills” with more punch (“All the Good Ones”), and palm-muted power chords (“1 More Hit”). Clocking in at a snappy 30 minutes, the 10 tracks here are all killer, no filler—recalling the catchy immediacy of the Green Album, even if, sonically, it’s the equivalent of wearing spandex and lace rather than baggy khakis. But as it is with every Weezer album, they also embrace their pop side regardless of whatever gimmick they pursue. There are sparkling odes to the underdog (“Hero”), anecdotes about overcoming stage fright (“Beginning of the End”), and adolescent memories about raging to Aerosmith (“I Need Some of That”), each guided by frontman Rivers Cuomo’s dewy-eyed ruminations and tightly crafted power-pop hooks. And for the longtime faithful, Cuomo even throws in some fan service with “Sheila Can Do It”—converting an old demo he wrote in the mid-’90s into a revved-up rocker with bubblegum New Wave flourishes.

5.9 / 10

Rivers Cuomo’s latest is a tribute to his hair metal heroes, but it never goes all that hard.

B

Bad Weezer often feels like it’s striving for relevance; Van Weezer couldn’t possibly care less about seeming relevant, or even vaguely cool.

5 / 10

The heavy metal pastiche often clashes against Rivers Cuomo's sensitive songwriting, but album 15 does boast one of the band's best choruses

5.5 / 10

Weezer's bold claims make for an underwhelming payoff on their newest album 'Van Weezer.'

4 / 5

All Hale! Rivers Cuomo and co. bring big riffs and bigger tunes in irresistible ’80s hard rock homage…

Album Review: Weezer's 'Van Weezer' is a surprisingly big-hearted tribute to the big-hair era

It just doesn’t make sense.

Rivers Cuomo began plotting Weezer's return to hard rock long before the October 2020 passing of Eddie Van Halen, but once the guitarist left this world, Cuomo decided to dub the group's heavy 2021 record Van Weezer.

7 / 10

Weezer's hard rock and metal influences have long served as a cheeky counterpoint to their pop geekiness: they name-checked KISS on their fi...

Initially teased by Rivers Cuomo in the distant past of February 2019 – fifteen months before its original prospective release of May 2020 – it’s been the talk of Weezerville ever since.

5.0 / 10

“Daydreaming of my escape, listening to Aerosmith/Later on, I will call my mom,” sings Rivers Cuomo aged 15 and a half, sorry I mean 50 years old, on Weezer’s 15th studio album, Van Weezer.

7 / 10

It’s finally here! The fabled ‘Van Weezer’ has finally arrived! Take your pandemic, your year-long delays, and your brilliant surprise

5 / 10

There's no other way to process Weezer's 'Van Weezer' than with a tongue planted in a winking cheek somewhere. Weezer going metal is still Weezer after all.

7.0 / 10

Weezer - Van Weezer Album Review by Adam Williams. The full-length comes out on May 7th via Crush Music/Atlantic Records

60 %

34 %

2.0 / 5

Weezer - Van Weezer review: Weezer churns out another unremarkable release, once again proving that their focus is on quantity instead of quality.