Weezer [Black Album]
by Weezer
  • Record Label: Atlantic
  • Release Date: Mar 1, 2019
User Score
5.3

Mixed or average reviews- based on 88 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 33 out of 88
  2. Mixed: 32 out of 88
  3. Negative: 23 out of 88
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  1. V1T02
    Mar 6, 2019
    5
    o álbum é medíocre e genérico na maior partde do tempo, perdendo a inventividade, o famoso "pop farófa"
  2. ImBathory
    Mar 2, 2019
    5
    Mediocre album by Weezer. Nothing really stands out and its forgettable aside from the chorus of High as a Kite which is atrocious. Really the only highlight is Cant Knock The Hustle.
  3. thunderboltway
    Mar 4, 2019
    5
    Weezer's "The Last Jedi":

    Witnessing the band defiantly ditching their crusty conservative fanbase once and for all with a capital "P" Pop album on the level of Taylor Swift, Katy Perry, or Lady Gaga is at least hilariously entertaining. No, it's not always a fitting choice given the material. For example, a little grime and fuzz would have elevated the halfway-there Visconti/Bolan    Weezer's "The Last Jedi":

    Witnessing the band defiantly ditching their crusty conservative fanbase once and for all with a capital "P" Pop album on the level of Taylor Swift, Katy Perry, or Lady Gaga is at least hilariously entertaining.

    No, it's not always a fitting choice given the material. For example, a little grime and fuzz would have elevated the halfway-there Visconti/Bolan inspired "The Prince Who Wanted Everything" from neat trick to revelation.

    Nevertheless, while the commercial gloss is still too strong even on the following odder tracks, "Can't Knock The Hustle", "Zombie Bastards", "Too Many Thoughts In My Head," and the gloriously anachronistic, feminine Bossa Nova bopper "Byzantine" at least start courting legit hipster weirdos again, people who felt abandoned by the band long ago.

    It's a bit didactic, as it feels like Weezer has taken it upon themselves to educate mongoloids, and if that's a little mean, well, so is this record. By competing in today's anti-intellectual and clinically bland Top 40, Weezer is clearly frustrated with what people want from them and hoping a little music appreciation goes a long way.

    Fly, freak flags, fly.    … Expand
  4. GerardistheWay
    Mar 2, 2019
    5
    It pains me to have to give such a low score to the latest album by a band that I absolutely adore, but Weezer's "Black Album" unfortunately just doesn't live up to the early promise that it showed.

    This isn't to say the album isn't without merits - far from it, in fact. This record is one of halves, and the front half, if nothing special, is at least listenable and enjoyable enough.    It pains me to have to give such a low score to the latest album by a band that I absolutely adore, but Weezer's "Black Album" unfortunately just doesn't live up to the early promise that it showed.

    This isn't to say the album isn't without merits - far from it, in fact. This record is one of halves, and the front half, if nothing special, is at least listenable and enjoyable enough. "Can't Knock the Hustle" and "Living in LA", with their funky dance beats and prickly guitar riffs, lay the groundwork for the urban rhythms Rivers Cuomo expressed interest in exploring in the lead-up to release, while "High as a Kite" lulls you with mellow dream-pop before blasting it all away in an explosion of guitar and synths, a clashing of personalities that recalls and highlights the influence of bands like the Pixies. "I'm Just Being Honest", another perfectly danceable pop song that's probably among their best within the last few years, sounds like it could have been a hilarious spin on All-American Rejects-style pop punk with more distortion guitar, and though "Piece of Cake" is wholly bland and "Zombie Bastards" (some interesting lyrical flourishes aside) repeats many of the mistakes made with "Feels Like Summer", they work well enough in the moment that you might be willing to give them another spin.

    Whereas the first half was, if admittedly a little scattershot, fairly consistent in terms of tone, themes and quality, however, the second spirals out of control and nearly drags the entire record down with it. "Too Many Thoughts in My Head" is too sonically and lyrically jarring to revisit again after the first listen, as if Rivers had thrown caution to the wind and created the strangest song he could think of, and while the injection of a little more guitar into "The Prince Who Wanted Everything" is certainly welcome, it's in service of a song so dull that it does little to liven up the affair (also, the only band who can talk about how rock-and-roll their music is in their own songs and manage to sound only slightly ridiculous is AC/DC, so let's just leave that to them). If not for the fact that it were by Weezer (and even this might not save it from that fate), "Byzantine" is so mind-numbingly generic and bland that it could easily be mistakable for easy-listening or elevator music, and the electro-soundscape where the boys get themselves lost in "California Snow" is about as far removed from Weezer as anyone could imagine, much less want.

    Weezer has shown us before that they can surprise us with a comeback album so great that it makes you forget about what all had come before to tarnish their reputation in the first place. Who knows? Maybe they've got one tucked away somewhere that will wipe away the wasted potential that was this record. Seeing as it seemed that they were just starting to get their groove back, however, it'd probably be best to release that sooner rather than later. 5/10

    Choice Cuts: "High as a Kite", "Living in LA", "I'm Just Being Honest"    … Expand
  5. weezermij
    Mar 6, 2019
    4
    Pretty bad, mediocre and forgettable music. Weezer trying too hard to sound cool in many ways and failing at each one, save when the try to be themselves: High as a kite. An album with only one highlight us not enough for Rivers' standards. Remember, this same band released the great White Album just a couple of years ago...
    This is, basically, Pacific Daydream II.
  6. Beffcake
    Mar 1, 2019
    4
    I guess you could say I'm not high on cookies. I'm certainly not high on this album.
  7. DavianQ
    Mar 1, 2019
    4
    While Weezer's latest offering shows their willingness to step outside their rock comfort zone, this is not the album Weezer fans wanted. I cannot imagine a single track on this album capturing a typical Weezer live crowd the way they can with the material that has served them best.
  8. Gamesearcher1
    Aug 29, 2019
    5
    Weezer's latest release is another average pop-rock album that doesn't do too much special but certainly isn't as much as a blemish as other albums in their catalogue.
    Rivers sounds alright, and while a slight step-up from the Teal album with performances like "High as a Kite" being quite great, but he also has incredibly bad moments, and by the end of the album he's rapping his verses    Weezer's latest release is another average pop-rock album that doesn't do too much special but certainly isn't as much as a blemish as other albums in their catalogue.
    Rivers sounds alright, and while a slight step-up from the Teal album with performances like "High as a Kite" being quite great, but he also has incredibly bad moments, and by the end of the album he's rapping his verses (kill me) with one of the worst Weezer songs of the decade, and questionable closing track, "California Snow".
    I didn't expect anything all too interesting musically, and, unfortunately, I was right. While "The Prince Who Wanted Everything" has an alright riff, and there isn't anything that's atrociously bad.
    And then there's the lyrics. Holy moly, there is some terrible writing on this album. Even on songs that I surprisingly enjoyed, the lyrics were always iffy. There are a sure lot of 'Do-Do' hooks, which don't help. But, it was great hearing Cuomo calling people ****
    Overall, this was an average album. There were some good songs, there were some bad songs, but most just fell short at mediocre. It didn't bore me to death like 'Pacific Daydream', which I can commend.
    Favourites: High as a Kite, Too Many Thoughts in My Head
    Least Favourites: California Snow, Living in L.A., I’m Just Being Honest    … Expand
  9. Tigs
    Oct 14, 2021
    5
    Top 3 songs on the album:
    1. High as a Kite
    2. Can't Knock the Hustle
    3. I'm just being honest
  10. TheRaggedFlygon
    Jul 27, 2019
    5
    Some tracks on this album remind you of the great work that this band has put out before, others are hard to listen to. The ones that are listenable feel indistinguishable from other mediocre works by Weezer from the past twenty years and that is a shame given their resurgent popularity following their Africa cover.

    It might be worth a listen if you are a long time fan of the band, but    Some tracks on this album remind you of the great work that this band has put out before, others are hard to listen to. The ones that are listenable feel indistinguishable from other mediocre works by Weezer from the past twenty years and that is a shame given their resurgent popularity following their Africa cover.

    It might be worth a listen if you are a long time fan of the band, but you are likely better off just listening to the Blue Album or Pinkerton instead.    … Expand
  11. Chris182
    Apr 26, 2021
    6
    Its not nearly as bad as some of their previous work, but dont expect anyone to come back to this album regularly. Just another example of Weezer releasing a bunch of lazy half-written songs.

    Best Songs: High as a Kite, Living in LA, Byzantine, Im Just Being Honest, Too Many Thoughts in My Head
    Worst Songs: The Prince Who Wanted Everything, Piece of Cake, Zombie Bastards

Awards & Rankings

43
#43 Most Discussed Album of 2019
16
#16 Most Shared Album of 2019

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
53

Mixed or average reviews - based on 20 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 20
  2. Mixed: 10 out of 20
  3. Negative: 5 out of 20
  1. No Ripcord
    Mar 19, 2019
    50
    He implicitly tells you to “die, die” on the Slightly Stoopid-resembling Zombie Bastards, after all, a joyful retort to the haters who won’t shut up about how Weezer has become a meme in musical form. But Cuomo, ever the mercurial songwriter, later goes off over the pleasures of parasailing on the escapist, Paul McCartney-recalling High as a Kite. And that’s when Weezer (Black Album) peaks.
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  2. Under The Radar
    Mar 7, 2019
    10
    In simple summary, The Black Album makes The Teal Album sound like The Green Album, The Green Album sound like The Blue Album, and The Blue Album sound like the actual The White Album. The Beatles one. And all of it sounds like Weezer flowering into the absolute worst version of themselves.
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  3. The 405
    Mar 6, 2019
    15
    With The Black Album, Weezer once again sounds insufferably uncomfortable with the notion of aging by devising the musical equivalent of getting hair plugs. ... A compilation of tracks lacking in quality and spat out at the end of a conveyer belt.
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