Van Weezer Review
Alright folks, let’s get this out of the way up front, I like Weezer! I enjoy a lot of both their older and newer stuff because more than anything, I find Weezer’s music to be very fun. In fact I like them so much that on 4/20 I did an hour of Weezer in place of my normal pop variety show to celebrate! Weezer has released a veritable shit ton of music during their 27 years of existence (with a break and reunion somewhere in there) and on May 7, they released their 15th studio album, Van Weezer which I am here to review today.
I’d like to start by saying that this album is fun, there’s no doubt about that! This album pays homage to some of Cuomo’s favorite hair metal bands, sometimes more cheesily than others. I’m not going to try to convince you that this album is great, but who really turns to Weezer for top tier, high quality music? I imagine that most Weezer fans turn to them for some fun vibes like me and I don’t think that’s a bad thing. Without further adieu, let’s get into how I feel about the songs on this album!
We start with “Hero” with its distinct superhero theme and childlike energy. This song tells the story of someone who wants to be a hero for someone but ultimately walks alone. It’s a bit cheesy but overall a pretty fun opener.
Next we hear “All the Good Ones” which sounds to me like it could have been on their White Album with its chill verses and more rocking chorus. Once again the message with this one is pretty cheesy being about all of the good ones being gone… except for the girl this song is about.
Next we have “The End of the Game” which I quite like! It gives me big Van Halen vibes with the guitar lines. Despite the rock feel, the lyrics are quite sugary sweet and I imagine would succeed in winning a girl over. More than any other songs on this album, I think that this one will be a staple in what I listen to this summer.
“I Need Some of That” is our next song which opens with a pretty dramatic guitar line before very quickly mellowing out in the first verse where the energy builds back up to the chorus. The lyrics in this song are more slice of life than most of the other songs from this album, but it is very fun. Very fun, youthful energy overall.
“Beginning of the End” opens with sirens and static before beginning the big build to the chorus. This one goes decently hard… and I really do like it. Fairly cheesy lyrics as per usual, but this time with an apocalyptic twist. This is another fun one that I will be undoubtedly jamming to in the coming summer months.
“Blue Dream” is a song that I have strong feelings about, and they’re not great. The instrumentals are just a sample of “Crazy Train” for most of the song and I don’t really think that Weezer adds anything to them. More than anything when listening to this song, I think, “what compelled you to make this?”
“1 More Hit” has a distinctly less cheerful feel than the other songs on this album. The “1 more hit” I assume refers to another hit of their drug of choice which doesn’t make for the greatest vibes. For me personally it just wasn't as much of a jam as I was hoping for.
“Sheila Can Do It” is a series of… interesting choices. The instrumentals keep the song feeling fun but I’ll admit the lyrics don’t quite sit right with me. The message seems to be that Sheila, this female friend inspires Rivers to do great things since she is doing great things but I think they missed the mark just a little bit and to me it doesn’t quite come off that way.
“She Needs Me” has a bit of a cold open before building up the energy. This song feels like an homage to a simpler time with the simple lyrics, “she needs me, she needs me, and that’s why I need her”. This song fits the theme of most songs in this album, which is fun energy but with lyrics that are a bit cheesy and in this case outdated.
“Precious Metal Girl” is the final song on the album, ending it on a very chill note which isn’t unheard of for Weezer albums. We lose the electric guitar for an acoustic one and continue with the sweet and sappy lyrics that are consistent throughout the album. Though this time they do feel a bit different with the chill vibe of the instrumentals.
Van Weezer isn’t my favorite Weezer album, but it is fun as I think I have said about 20 times at this point. There are some songs that will be included in my summer jams but generally I probably won’t be giving much attention to the lyrics, there’s only so much cheesiness a girl can take after all.
