SZNZ: Summer
EP by
Weezer
ReleasedJune 21, 2022 (2022-06-21)
Genre
Length23:37
Label
Producer
Weezer chronology
SZNZ: Spring
(2022) 		SZNZ: Summer
(2022) 		SZNZ: Autumn
(2022)
Singles from SZNZ: Summer
  1. "Records"
    Released: June 16, 2022

SZNZ: Summer is the eighth EP by American rock band Weezer, and the second of four EPs in their SZNZ (pronounced "seasons") project. It was released digitally on June 21, 2022, coinciding with the Summer solstice. The album received its lead single "Records" just a few days before its release.[3]

Background

Rivers Cuomo described the EP's sound as "21st century 90s". Aesthetically, he linked the project to 44 BC at the end of the Roman Republic, with an intended emotion of "youthful indignation".[4]

Release

On June 16, 2022, Weezer released the lead single, "Records", on an app called "Human Record Player". The app would play the song once the user spins themselves around clockwise like a record player.[5] SZNZ: Summer was officially released on June 21, 2022, the day of the Summer Solstice.

Critical reception

SZNZ: Summer ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Exclaim!7/10[2]
Gigwise[6]
Pitchfork4.2/10[7]
Riff Magazine6/10[8]

Alex Hudson at Exclaim! opined that SZNZ: Summer is their heaviest release, surpassing Maladroit and Van Weezer, largely praising the EP. Hudson, however, added "The only real blunder is Summer's glossy, quantized, computer-made sound; with the raw energy of playing live in a room, Weezer's Summer pyrotechnics display might have truly ignited, rather than simply smouldered."[2] David Gill of Riff Magazine was slightly more critical of the EP, stating "Cuomo's patented brand of plainspoken emotional vulnerability is still there, but the psychological urgency of The Blue Album and Pinkerton seems to have been replaced by a kind of ironic, almost vocational indifference. It's as if, 30 years after releasing some of the most intense and evocative emo rock ever made, Cuomo and Weezer now approach music as a problem to solve rather than a vehicle for their own catharsis."[8] In a negative review, Jesse Locke of Pitchfork wrote: "At this point in their career, Weezer are the musical equivalent of The Simpsons. Hacky, pandering, and decades past their best work..."[7]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Rivers Cuomo. "Records" co-written by Grant Phillip Michaels and Sam Hollander

No.TitleLength
1."Lawn Chair"2:04
2."Records"3:28
3."Blue Like Jazz"3:12
4."The Opposite of Me"3:30
5."What's the Good of Being Good"4:02
6."Cuomoville"3:16
7."Thank You and Good Night"4:05
Total length:23:37
Vinyl-exclusive bonus track
No.TitleLength
8."Portia"3:23

Personnel

Weezer

Additional personnel

References

  1. ^ "LISTEN: WEEZER DROP SZNZ: SUMMER EP, ANNOUNCE BROADWAY RESIDENCY". Kerrang!.
  2. ^ a b c "Weezer Set Fire to 'Summer' with Their Heaviest Album Ever | Exclaim!". exclaim.ca.
  3. ^ "Weezer Share 'Summer' Single "Records" — but There's a Twist | Exclaim!". exclaim.ca.
  4. ^ "weezer: SZNZ - Google Sheets". 2022-06-04. Archived from the original on 2022-06-04. Retrieved 2022-12-10.
  5. ^ "You can listen to the new Weezer single… but only by becoming a…". Kerrang!. Retrieved 2022-12-10.
  6. ^ Wilson, Rob (June 29, 2022). "EP Review: Weezer - SZNZ: Summer". Gigwise. Retrieved June 30, 2022.
  7. ^ a b Locke, Jesse (June 30, 2022). "Weezer: SZNZ: Summer Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved July 1, 2022.
  8. ^ a b "Album Review: Weezer goes on vacation with 'SZNS: Summer'". June 21, 2022.
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