Andrew’s Judgmental Album Reviews: Weezer – SZNZ: Autumn (2022)

You know, I’ve already covered Spring and Summer; but kinda forgot about this. I was just happy the weather in the northeast stopped being 80+ in September, almost exactly on the solstice. Thusly, I’ve been enjoying the crisper weather and forgot Weezer was doing seasonal albums.

So here we go! I remembered now! Let’s see if Autumn captures the feeling of the season the same way Summer did!

• Artist: Weezer
• Album: SZNZ: Autumn
• Label: Crush Music/Atlantic Records
• Total Track Time: 24:13

Can’t Dance Don’t Ask so they start with a little Robert Palmer nod with the “Doctor Doctor” line, and this is a weird little song. I like the fact that it starts around a fire when Summer ended on at a bonfire; but this is in that melancholic vein that Weezer has definitely been known for. That weird lyrical quandary of wishing they were doing what others were doing, but since they can’t dance, don’t ask. So it’s definitely odd, yes I know Autumn is usually Homecoming dances in school and that ilk, but this feels like a song that needs the rest of the album to make sense. Not a bad song though on its own merits. Get Off On The Pain starts off with some Salem Witch Trial vibes, and then the pre-chorus leads into the get off on the pain gimmick really well. “What’s wrong with me? I count to three, I screwed it up to the Judas Tree, I bow my head, I turn my eyes, I ran away, right by your side” – the feeling of wanting to leave or make things better but ending up back where you started. Again, not sure how it correlates to Autumn, but it’s a little darker and a pretty good song. What Happens After You? okay this has a very big Dance Pop vibe. It literally sounds like Franz Ferdinand took over for this third song. This is a fantastic radio play song. My only complaint is really what is the Autumn vibe…but I dig the song.

Francesca so this feels like a song about Napoleon Bonaparte. The only thing I can say is it keeps that Dance genre strumming and still talking about dire romantic situations in some part. Is THAT their gimmick for Autumn? Just melancholic break-up music? I definitely don’t care about this song at all. While its not terrible, it doesn’t add anything to the album or vibe and just sits in the pocket of Dance Pop with a topic I have no care for. Should She Stay or Should She Go, I wonder if she does there will be trouble and if she doesn’t it’ll be double. So we’re back in the weird Eden/Old Testament/Angelic zone they’ve made sure is in each of the seasons so far. This feels like a 13 year old just read A Mid Summer’s Night Dream for the first time and wrote the most pitiable half assed attempt at a sappy song. Tastes Like Pain, damn, is this the BDSM album and no one told me? Just pain and weird vibes everywhere. So I already dislike that they use a bit of Vivaldi in this song, but they use a bit from his Winter Concerto…in Autumn. Granted, it is towards the end, so maybe that’s the imagery, but the song is really nothing more than a kinda cool interlude that goes nowhere of note.

Run Raven Run is really just fan service. It takes a bit of the Pacific Sunset demo and gives fans something they knew they’d like even though the lyrics are more inane and abstract. Could it be about flying south for the winter? Sure; and it probably is with the weather references. I really don’t have anything else to say. This song is just generic Weezer.

Well damn, here I was thinking this seasons collection could’ve been genius after genius; but what the hell was this? Spring captured the lightness, the hope, the new life ambience. Summer managed a few fun loving and heavier songs since it’s mostly irreverence until we get to the end. But this…it’s just melancholy, broken relationships, confusing imagery, pain and birds apparently. Maybe this will make more sense once all the seasons are out and the tone can shift from album to album; but on its own merits it’s not great.

Hopefully this is like the Evangelion rebuild movies, where the third one was the weakest because it was setting up for the grand finale. Is this a necessary evil? Who knows. I just know I am not a fan of this album.

Final Judgment: 4.5/10