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. rextree
    Mar 1, 2019
    7
    It's a mixed bag for sure, but with its flaws -such as Piece of Cake- there are great tracks in the forms of Too Many Thoughts and I'm Just Being Honest.
  2. peo
    Mar 1, 2019
    7
    Its better than pacifyc daydream , ratitud or hurley . They have grown in that new direction they were taking with this ,and i appreciate that . But that doesnt make the album up to the name of the band
  3. AlexTheSavior
    Mar 4, 2019
    7
    Definitely not weezer's best, but it's definitely a generally decent album. My personal favorites are Can't Knock the Hustle and High as a Kite.
  4. PhoenixCauseway
    Mar 4, 2019
    9
    As a fan of Weezer going back far too many years to count I actually went into listening to the Black Album with trepidation but came away so impressed. The sound may be slightly different from past records, but the quality of their songwriting prowess shines through. Especially loving Zombie Bastards and Piece of Cake. Surprised by the low reviews!
  5. nthecoolnl
    Mar 1, 2019
    7
    While this album is a mixed bag of songs, there are still some classic catchy songs that grab my attention. I loved their white album, it seemed to be a return to form. Then pacific day dream came out and (while i actually like this album too) it seems that the Black album has mixed both styles but leans a bit too much towards Pacific daydream, making this album slightly unstructured.

    I    While this album is a mixed bag of songs, there are still some classic catchy songs that grab my attention. I loved their white album, it seemed to be a return to form. Then pacific day dream came out and (while i actually like this album too) it seems that the Black album has mixed both styles but leans a bit too much towards Pacific daydream, making this album slightly unstructured.

    I like an album to tell me a story and have each song compliment each other as they transition into the next track. I do not feel like this album does that, BUT its still a good listen. I was hoping for a more heavy sound from this album, but i still love Weezer and i will no doubt be listening to this album on repeat as i have done with ALL of their other albums    … Expand
  6. PinkertonLight
    Mar 6, 2019
    8
    What it lacks in classic Weezer lyrics and instrumental diversity, I found catchy pop rock tunes hidden in a bleak and sometimes boring grasp at an antithesis to 2016's "White Album." Gems such as the five songs heard before the album's release, and "I'm Just Being Honest," along with "Too Many Thoughts In My Head." Finally, the elephant in the room is the unnecessary explicitness of someWhat it lacks in classic Weezer lyrics and instrumental diversity, I found catchy pop rock tunes hidden in a bleak and sometimes boring grasp at an antithesis to 2016's "White Album." Gems such as the five songs heard before the album's release, and "I'm Just Being Honest," along with "Too Many Thoughts In My Head." Finally, the elephant in the room is the unnecessary explicitness of some songs, which comes off as awkward at times but easy to move past.… Expand
  7. SteveJohnson
    Mar 1, 2019
    8
    Truly a good album with very few bad tracks. It’s hard to think of a Weezer song as good as Byzantine
  8. BigYellow24
    Mar 1, 2019
    8
    I’m actually very surprised. The weak reviews this album was getting lowered my expectations a lot but I was really pleasantly surprised. Not all the songs on here are winners but I think this might actually be Weezer’s best album since Pinkerton.
  9. JayShurman
    Mar 3, 2019
    7
    This is another cringey dad-rock album. At least this album is authentic and eccentric but it still tries too hard to be cool. We will never forgive you for "Raditutde." A few songs like "Byzantine" really stand out tho.
  10. stupidman3444
    Mar 6, 2019
    10
    This album was really good! It isn’t weezer’s best album, but it’s definitely worth listening to still.
  11. wowee
    Mar 1, 2019
    10
    I love Weezer ,,,, Red, White and Blue ---- Black, Teal or whatever color they drop........ They're just Amazing !!!!!!!!!
  12. Geofos63
    Mar 7, 2019
    10
    Rarely am I immediately drawn to an album on the first listen, but here's one for the short list. Weezer is as fresh, witty, and clever as they were on The Sweater Song, when I first became a fan. It's so good to hear some popular music in 2019 that wasn't arranged by a computer.
  13. Blueears
    Mar 14, 2019
    7
    Better production than Pacific Daydream with better songs, though it isn't exactly on par with Everything Will Be Alright and White. Still, there are good tracks to be had here, and Rivers' lyrics are getting interesting again (despite California Snow, which is awful lyrically yet still catchy despite itself). It really annoys me when fans say "this isn't the album we wanted", like they'reBetter production than Pacific Daydream with better songs, though it isn't exactly on par with Everything Will Be Alright and White. Still, there are good tracks to be had here, and Rivers' lyrics are getting interesting again (despite California Snow, which is awful lyrically yet still catchy despite itself). It really annoys me when fans say "this isn't the album we wanted", like they're entitled to Pinkerton Pt. 2 just because they really like that record. Welp, it don't work that way. If you don't like it, don't listen to it. You aren't owed anything. Now for those of us who still enjoy Weezer despite the fact that their newer material is more decent than great, I'll take a Black album gladly.… Expand
  14. nce93
    May 10, 2021
    7
    A more experimental album than most people may of been hoping for coming off the previous three albums, but in many cases it paid off. Can't knock the hustle, Zombie Bastards, California Snow, and a few overs are new Weezer mainstays. The problem is some other tracks that could have been great end up sounding just okay because they needed a little more time in the oven to work out whatA more experimental album than most people may of been hoping for coming off the previous three albums, but in many cases it paid off. Can't knock the hustle, Zombie Bastards, California Snow, and a few overs are new Weezer mainstays. The problem is some other tracks that could have been great end up sounding just okay because they needed a little more time in the oven to work out what they wanted to be (Piece of Cake, Living in LA, Too many thoughts). I understand the divisiveness of the album, and it may not be one you listen to all 10 tracks again, but there is still so much to be said for a band that can provide good unique tracks that surprise listeners 25 years after their debut.… Expand
  15. MagicPretzel
    May 16, 2021
    10
    Don't listen to people who are obsessed with Weezer's first 2 - 3 studio albums to the exclusion of everything the band has released afterwards — this is an alternatingly cool and silly (in a fun way) album by a band whose frontman is an increasingly emotionally secure and happy married guy in his late middle age who has two kids who love him and whom he loves back, and for that reasonDon't listen to people who are obsessed with Weezer's first 2 - 3 studio albums to the exclusion of everything the band has released afterwards — this is an alternatingly cool and silly (in a fun way) album by a band whose frontman is an increasingly emotionally secure and happy married guy in his late middle age who has two kids who love him and whom he loves back, and for that reason alone it's *not* going to be the kind of exercise in (unintentional) dorkiness or oversharing that made his band famous, and then notorious, in the first place. Detractors may whine about how "formulaic" much of the songwriting is, but if such a charge can be levelled against it, is that really a bad thing? Popular chord progressions, melodic phrasings and even production techniques exist to be used because people dig them and like how they sound. It's kind of the whole point, you know? As for the arrangements of (some of) the songs, there's more to life as a rock musician than constantly trying to appeal to purists who act like they're going to have mental health crises whenever they encounter a synthesiser playing more loudly than an electric guitar.
    Go out and buy it if you haven't already — it's cool and fun, and, along with the subsequently released "OK Human" and maybe "Van Weezer", it's easily among their best albums since the first two (and I say that as someone who got into the first two when they came out and then left the fandom after the Green Album — yes, this one got me to come back and even inspired me to re-evaluate some of Weezer's other releases more favourably!). As long as you approach it with your heart in the right place, you won't regret it, even if you do need to play it a few times before it really grows on you.    … Expand

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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