On Their Second Album Before Mid-Year, Weezer Get It Right with Van Weezer

The Weez put away the orchestra and dig out the amp stacks to hit the road

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It was only February when I reviewed Weezer’s last effort, Ok Human. The album was a left-field experiment for the band and one that I wanted to appreciate, but my opinion hasn’t changed (it wasn’t great).

Weezer left me wondering what their next record Van Weezer would bring, and now that the hair metal tribute is out, I can confidently say they’ve righted their ship.

Van Weezer has been in the works for a few years, along with Ok Human - two completely different projects. After the craptacular pop of Pacific Daydream and The Black Album, Rivers Cuomo hinted at the band returning to their roots in an interview with Entertainment Weekly:

“What I’ve been working on the last two weeks is back to big guitars. Blue Album-ish, but a little more riffy. The working title is Van Weezer. The inspiration came from our live shows, where, in the middle of “Beverly Hills,” unlike on the album, everything stops, and I just break out with this crazy guitar solo. We noticed that, recently, the crowd just goes crazy when I do that. So it feels like maybe the audience is ready for some shredding again.”

In late 2019, Weezer announced that Van Weezer would be released the following year to coincide with their Hella Mega Tour, in which they would appear with Green Day and Fall Out Boy. The tour was canceled because of the pandemic, and the band placed Van Weezer on the shelf with Ok Human released instead as it was more appropriate for the times.

Now that the Hella Mega Tour is back on for this summer (will I be attending? That would be a Hella No), Weezer has released this shredfest, and I have to say I am pleasantly surprised.

If you couldn’t tell from the title, Van Weezer looks back to the 80s, and the record kicks off with a welcomed slap to the face on “The End of the Game.” The song is the record’s mission statement, with its “Eruption”-esque finger tapping giving way to the classic Weezer sound, which is the real key to this album’s success.

At face value, Van Weezer is full of meme-level riffs that would make the Scorpions blush, but underneath you’ll find the band operating at the catchiness found long ago on The Green Album and Maladroit.

For example, on “All The Good Ones,” Weezer refurbish “Beverly Hills,” one of their worst singles, into an earworm that will catch you off guard. It’s also lovely to have guitarist Brian Bell, bassist Scott Shriner, and drummer Pat Wilson back after their presence seemed diminished on Ok Human. Their harmonies are on point and everyone is present in the mix.

While the hair metal licks mostly play out as a tribute, a few songs lift straight from past classics, with entertaining results. On highlight “I Need Some of That,” there’s no mistaking that the song is driven by “Heat of the Moment” by Asia, with teases of “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper” by Blue Öyster Cult. The most obvious example is on “Blue Dream,” where Weezer ape Randy Rhodes’ signature “Crazy Train” riff while Cuomo sings about more rejection.

“Beginning of the End” has the most fitting lyrics for this stage of their career when Cuomo sings, “Nostradamus predicted a bomb would drop, and all our guitars will be humming in old pawn shops, watch us brush off the dust, in heavy metal we trust.”

My favorite track is “Sheila Can Do It,” a new wave update on an old song hanging around from Cuomo’s Harvard days in the mid-90s. Initially written for Pinkerton, it’s no surprise why it’s the highlight for me. Combining the nostalgia that put Weezer on the map with a metal update to fit into the album, it’s refreshing to have the band sound like they’re having fun again.

The record does have a few hiccups. “Hero” is overly poppy, and I can imagine NBC is champing at the bit to overplay it during the upcoming NHL playoffs. Later in the record, “1 More Hit” leans into Zakk Wylde sludge while Cuomo sings, “pump it up into me, please daddy, please daddy.” Unfortunately, it sounds more like his turn in the fictitious Steel Dragon than his time playing with Ozzy. Kudos to the speed metal bridge, though.

Okay, maybe these tracks are growing on me - this is the first Weezer album in a very long time without some cringy, skippable songs.

As for production, Weezer looks to Suzy Shinn, who has been making a name for herself, working with the aforementioned Fall Out Boy, Panic! at the Disco, Dua Lipa, and Katy Perry. Production has been one of my problems with recent Weezer albums, and Shinn crushes it here by breathing new life into the band.

If Weezer had released this after Everything Will Be Alright in the End and The White Album, they would have been on a second career hot streak. While I’m unsure about Van Weezer making my year-end list, the band is back on track and this is a fun pop album that will have a place in the hot days of summer.

If you were making a metal album, which classic riff would be your inspiration? Let me know in the comments!