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Writer's pictureYoung Titan

Weezer-SZNZ:Spring EP Review


Written Before Listen


Here we are, my third Weezer review and all of them are from new releases. We first got OK Human which is one of the better releases of modern times. We then got Van Weezer with its devotion to Arena rock and guitar heroism. We are here now to I’ve heard to be folkier and devoted to the music of the spring. It’s an EP as well so it won’t be that long, but without further ado, let’s get into it.


Production


One thing that this album for it is that the production is way looser than the previous two Weezer albums. Van Weezer surely had that reverb-filled sound that their influences had and Ok Human took that chamber orchestra to its advantage, but here, Weezer just sounds like they’re aiming for the Tiny Desk. The production is dry, the folky instruments are cool but they just can’t mix with distorted guitars at all. I think I would’ve liked some of these songs if they didn’t have the production it had.


Songwriting


Now let’s get to the songwriting. I like the sentiments of most of these songs but holy cow, some of these ideas are corny. The first two tracks are the biggest examples of that. The “Opening Night” is a devotion to Shakespeare in the tune of Vivaldi’s spring section of the Four Seasons symphony. Also, the religious symbolism is so basic, I’m not even religious and I know that. I know Rivers has written so much more songs that are 1000x better like this. Remember, this is the same guy that wrote Pinkerton, I don’t know how it led to this.


Influences


To give credit where it’s due, I think their use of folk instruments allows them to shed light on their influences. Artists like The Byrds, Fountains Of Wayne, Supergrass, and of course, Big Star are all shown in multiple ways in the span of this EP and I do think it’s cool to hear, no matter how I think about the production and songwriting.


Concept


Now to the concept of this EP….spring. That’s it. Look….I love music that fits seasons. I make playlists for each season when they come along and I listen to them all, but when I think of music from the Spring, I don’t think of this type of music. I think of “Odyssey and Oracle”, I think of early REM, I think of “RAM”, I think of Fleetwood Mac. As you can see, I feel like those artists represent the music of spring better than Weezer did and they didn’t even try. I guess my final thoughts are that I respect the idea but the outcome of it could’ve been done better.

Favorite Tracks


I think I would’ve given this EP a lower rating if it wasn’t for the song “A Little Bit Of Love”. It’s a nice and cute song and Rivers comes with an infectious delivery. It’s also not overdone with the concept and it does remind me of Big Star as well which is always a plus. With that being said, I still think Weezer overdid it on this one.


Verdict


Well, I might not be keen on this EP, but I will say is that I do look forward to the summer EP. Especially with Weezer’s capabilities to make summer jams like “Buddy Holly”, “Island In The Sun” and “LA Girlz”, so let’s just look forward to that.


4/10


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