“SZNZ: Spring” is the newest EP by legendary alt-rock band Weezer (“My Name is Jonas”), appropriately named as it dropped on the spring equinox March 20. If you are a fan of their earlier works, be warned that this new release does not mirror their more well-known songs like “Buddy Holly” or “Say It Ain’t So.” 

The EP has seven songs that make up a total run time of 20 minutes, and sounds like a folk-pop collection based off of “Island In The Sun.” The lyrical skill of Rivers Cuomo has not waned, though, as this first installation of “SZNZ” contains references to Shakespearean works and flowery lines about love. According to online entertainment site Stereogum, there will be three more EPs released this year for each season. Supposedly each will mimic a movement from Vivaldi’s “The Four Seasons.”

The song “Angels on Vacation” is painfully literal and boring to listen to. “All This Love” is a cute ballad, but sounds like something that would be used in a commercial to talk about insurance. Arguably the best song on the album, and perhaps the only good one, lead single “A Little Bit of Love” is a bouncy and hopeful track that sings the praise of winter’s end. It is catchy and cute, with just enough guitar to be a Weezer song. Cuomo’s voice is recognizable and clear as always. It stands apart from the other six songs in that it makes you want to sing, rather than sit and contemplate whether you enjoy it or not.

It is becoming increasingly difficult to tell the difference between new Weezer music and recent Twenty One Pilots (“Stressed Out”) music. The voices of each band’s respective frontmen are not all that different, and both groups have taken a liking to putting out more upbeat and happy rhythms as of late. Which is not bad, per se, but changes in subject or style sometimes fall flat with fanbases. Weezer is no stranger to change as their last four albums all differ greatly from each other, some hitting high on the charts and others having less impact on the main music scene. 

Unlike other bands that make their fans wait years for new releases, Weezer has been steadily churning out songs particularly since 2016. They have released two albums a year since then, aside from “Pacific Daydream” being on its own in 2017. Some might call this cheap work, since it seems like they make releases all the time. The album “OK Human,” the band’s play on Radiohead’s (“Creep”) “OK Computer,” was released in January of last year and was quickly followed by “Van Weezer” which, you guessed it, is inspired by the band Van Halen (“Panama”). Where has their originality gone? Perhaps after covering Toto’s (“Rosanna”) “Africa” in 2018, the band got a little too much into covers and piggybacking off of names with more starpower.

To have an EP so full of springtime and almost-folksy guitar come directly after the heavier rock of “Van Weezer” is simply their brand; trying out new themes to keep their audience interested and wanting more. But this album is a miss in that it requires an incredibly specific mood to accompany it. If you like  listening to Shakespearean references and grunge guitar at the same time, give it a listen. 

Image from Weezer via YouTube