The popular alternative rock group Weezer has released a new album which they have named Weezer (The Teal Album). While the album is recognizable by the color teal, it is officially called Weezer, just like every other album by the band.  

The Teal Album came from seemingly nowhere, being released randomly on Jan 24, 2019. In a news statement on their website, Weezer called it “the ultimate covers collection with [songs from] TOTO, Tears For Fears, Eurythmics, A-Ha, The Turtles, Black Sabbath, Electric Light Orchestra, TLC, Michael Jackson & Ben E. King.”

The main focus of the album was to give tribute to the history of rock music and to provide as a filler until Weezer releases their next full album. Luckily, the album does exactly that, although it does contain a few noticeable flaws.

The album starts with the memorable “Africa” cover from 2018 which also stars Weird Al Yankovic. While not necessarily like the original, they still managed to make it seem authentic while adding the sound that Weezer has recently been known for.

From there, songs like “Sweet Dreams” and “Take On Me” take a backseat to the more memorable middle of the album. Powerful usage of Weezer’s style really took away the synths that  made them so well known in the first place.

 The middle of the album sports “Happy Together”, “Paranoid” and “Mr. Blue Sky,” all of which are perfected with a balance of the original and Weezer. The big moment in each song is kept with great accuracy, but also provides an alternate rock sound that adds to the feeling that Weezer promotes in their other albums.

Unfortunately, the end of the album takes a rather shallow and worthless turn. The next song in line is “No Scrubs” which provides an awkward feeling. The lead singer, Rivers Cuomo, sings a part usually sung by a woman.

Paul Brown of Drowned in Sound shows off this problem in his review.

“No matter how wry his smile, a white bloke approaching 50 really can’t pull off some of TLC’s lines,” Brown said.

Overall, it feels more like it was made for a joke rather than as an actual song.

The following two songs, “Billie Jean” and “Stand by Me,” provide a mediocre ending to the album by being more of a shallow re-imagining of the two in an alternative rock style. The style does not suit the songs well, leading them to not be as good as other songs in the album that actually fit the style.

Even other reviews agree, that the album was not the best that Weezer has produced.

“It’s built for the moment. At best, it’s a blueprint or rather a teaser for their forthcoming tours,” said Michael Roffman in his review for Consequence of Sound.

Overall, the album has its highlights and its downfalls. While it is not necessarily a bad album, it will not be nearly as memorable as other Weezer albums like Pinkerton.

The presence of the album sparks a feeling of such greatness alongside such mediocrity that the only way I can describe it is with a number: 7/10. It does what it tries to do in a fairly decent way while having some blunders along the way. Overall, The Teal Album makes an impact, but not the type of extreme impact that Weezer is known for.