Weezer – “OK Human” Review

Story posted February 1, 2021 in Arts & Entertainment by Emily McGlynn.

A new Weezer album is here—and it is not named after a color.

It’s been two years since Weezer’s last album, “Weezer (The Black Album),” and it was… not good. “OK Human” is… better.

“OK Human” is on the shorter side at only 30 minutes with 12 tracks in total. Rivers Cuomo (lead vocals), Brian Bell (guitar/keyboard), Patrick Wilson (drums) and Scott Shriner (bass guitar) are the ones that made the album possible.

The record was supposed to arrive earlier, but because of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was delayed. The band wanted to be as safe as possible. Another album is expected in the coming months.

Weezer brought in an entire orchestra to create this album. They have not done anything like this before, so they completely changed the game. As such, the listening experience is unlike anything listeners have heard from Weezer. “Grapes of Wrath,” “Numbers” and “Bird with a Broken Wing” are notably more orchestra-y than the other tracks.

Each song is soft and has a sweet, downhearted flow. The transitions from one song to another are immaculate. Weezer still sounds like Weezer, they’re just using violins and cellos this time around.

It’s still a pop-rock album but with a twist. This album almost sounds like a farewell, though nothing has been said about this by the band.
“OK Human” contains some of their catchiest songs, though nothing compares to previous classics like “Island in the Sun” and “Say It Ain’t So.”

It would not be a proper Weezer album without cheesy, poorly rhymed lyrics. In the first song, “All My Favorite Songs,” the words mad, bad and sad are rhymed together. Cuomo sings, “All my favorite people make me mad/Everything that feels so good is bad, bad, bad/All my favorite songs are slow and sad.” A kindergartener could write a haiku better than this.

Weezer does deserve some kudos for being more vulnerable than normal, though. Cuomo writes most—if not all—of the songs. But these potentially amazing moments of authenticity are diminished by soupy lines and spotty vocals.

Cuomo usually has an on-pitch voice that never fails to go extremely high or extremely low, but a close listen reveals the tiny flukes throughout the album, especially in the song “Playing My Piano.”

“OK Human” is not the best album, but it’s something new and is better than the recent things Weezer fans have heard. The effort is noticeable, and people want to hear more. Orchestra pop rock? Bring it on, Weezer.

Rating: 5/10

Reviewer’s Favorite Songs: “Here Comes the Rain” and “Aloo Gobi”

Reviewer’s Least Favorite Songs: “All My Favorite Songs” and “Playing My Piano”

 

Emily McGlynn is a freshman majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact her, email esm5378@psu.edu.