Weezer
Weezer (Black Album)

Summer 2018, Palermo. The temperature is close to 40 degrees, it's one of those typical days to spend on the beach with friends, diving into the water and drinking ice-cold beer. Unfortunately, it's the week before my high school finals, and I am a master of "there's still time." I prepare to study when YouTube decides to play a little trick on me (or give me a gift). New notification: "Africa - Weezer." The Californian band has decided, following a viral campaign started by some fan on Twitter, to record a cover of Toto's historic hit. Needless to say, I listen to it once, twice, three times. The obvious consequence is that between a passage from Pascoli's Fanciullino and some version of Plato, a love for Weezer is rekindled, a love dating back to middle school years, almost inevitable for those who witnessed the early days of YouTube and necessarily spent part of their childhood watching and re-watching amazing videos like "Buddy Holly" or "Undone" (though from the previous decade), a love actually dormant for a long time, resurfacing just a bit with the release of some new album, but never fully reaffirmed. Not until last summer when, perhaps because it was the soundtrack of a memorable period like my finals, Weezer regained a central role in my playlists (reclaiming the charts as well thanks to the same "Africa" and the cover album "Teal Album," more a kind of divertissement).
So it's no wonder I reacted with some enthusiasm to the announcement of a new album, yet another self-titled one. This time the color chosen for the background of the usual group photo for the cover is black. Personally, I expected this idea to be due to a possible choice to retrieve certain sounds that once again wink at old-school emo-pop. However, it only took the first single, released in the fall of 2018, to change my mind. "Can't Knock the Hustle" is indeed everything but emo. Pop plays the leading role, utilizing sounds very close to funky and at times "Spanish-sounding." After practically a winter-long wait, it finally arrived last March 4th, after a few other singles ("Zombie Bastards," "High as a Kite," and "Living in L.A.") and after some delays (the album was supposed to come out in 2017, as a response to the "White Album," even before "Pacific Daydream"), the "Black Album," the thirteenth studio work by the band.
Can we talk about a masterpiece? No. Can we talk about an innovative album? Less. Can we talk about a good, enjoyable album? Yes, but with reservations. With reservations because the album, while being, as already said, enjoyable, does not make full use of Weezer's potential and especially of Rivers Cuomo. Certainly a good work, well-played power pop, which as usual ventures in various directions. The point, however, is that while there might not be a particular flaw, there's also no particular merit. The songs are all catchy, but nothing more. The band does not come out diminished from this thirteenth studio effort, absolutely not, but the impression is that Cuomo & Co lately prefer quantity over quality. The albums released in the last four years are three, four if you count the already mentioned cover collection ("Teal Album"). It probably would have been better to wait a little more time, trying to improve the songs where possible and maybe wait for the inspiration to write some better pieces. We cannot absolutely talk about a band that has given everything already and therefore now struggles, an example being the "White Album," less than three years old, and in my opinion, a highly level work. The "Black Album" is therefore a pleasant work, one that can be listened to without any kind of concern, even though it can't be defined as one of the best records in Weezer's discography. Personally, I find it perfect for a casual listen while busy with something else, perfect for the car stereo during a trip, great background while having breakfast on a Sunday morning. For Weezer, that slightly more negative phase seems now long past, between 2005 and the following 6-7 years, and even judging by their live appearances, they are in great shape. For this very reason, if I mattered, I would advise dear Rivers to have a bit more patience, not to necessarily release almost annually what he composes, to gather his ideas more calmly, to take more time. When you're the Weezer and in good form, why settle, after all, for some mostly positive album instead of creating something memorable?