It is difficult to envision two bands within the same musical genre, yet farther apart from each other than Creedence Clearwater Revival and Weezer. The former was a product of the late 1960s San Francisco Bay Area, yet musically was anything but reflective of the psychedelic era of its locale, instead featuring Deep South-flavored, straightforward rockin’ boogie. Weezer started in the 1990s and quickly found its niche, albeit not altogether willingly, as the kings of nervous nerdom, a self-questioning entity not quite at home in the city or the suburbs, let alone the country. Yet both possess mastery of the art form that combines rock energy and grit with pop melodicism, giving us songs that you can both move to and sing along with.
Another comparison between the two bands comes to mind when contemplating Weezer’s latest release, which hit the record store shelves — well, the few remaining record stores anyway — on August 21, 2026, and Creedence Clearwater Revival’s final album “Mardi Gras,” which came out in 1971. On it, John Fogerty, who in terms of songwriting and singing was Creedence Clearwater Revival, finally doled out songwriting and singing responsibility to his two remaining bandmates (John’s brother Tom left the band in 1971 out of frustration in response to John’s unwillingness to share the spotlight) in equal portions to his own. The result was, shall we say, unfortunate, as it immediately became apparent that John Fogerty was quite right in steering the ship solo. While the new Weezer album, the band’s seventh self-titled release which in Weezer fandom tradition shall hereafter be referred to as “The Gold Album” in honor of its cover’s primary color, follows a similar path in that band leader/lead guitarist and vocalist/main songwriter Rivers Cuomo has stepped back from the latter, allowing the other three members — drummer Patrick Wilson, guitarist/keyboardist Brian Bell, and bassist/keyboardist Scott Shriner — to fully participate in the songwriting process. Thankfully, unlike “Mardi Gras,” which ended the Creedence Clearwater Revival party, “The Gold Album” shines like its namesake.
Musically, “The Gold Album” hews closely to what could be considered “classic” Weezer, namely the mixture of grunge and power pop that permeated the band’s first two albums, “The Blue Album” and “Pinkerton.” Cuomo’s often-plaintive vocals sit atop a mix of guitars routinely switching between clean chime and thick distortion, with Wilson and Shriner adding a relentless thundering foundation. The relationship with the band’s first album “The Blue Album,” which featured hits such as “Buddy Holly” and “Undone (The Sweater Song),” is highly evident on tracks such as “Shine Again.”
The dark angst of “Pinkerton” comes to mind when listening to songs like “We Might as Well Be Strangers.”
That said, the album is not a recycling of old riffs trotted out once more for the faithful. Weezer is what it is: a superb power pop band unafraid to adorn its melodies with unexpected twists and turns. Be it within an individual song, such as the cheery romp suddenly switching to ripping power chords and back again without dropping a beat of “Island in The Sun” from 2001’s “The Green Album,” the 1980s hair metal tribute of the 2021 release “Van Weezer” (get it?), or the rich orchestration of the “OK Human” album which was also released in 2021, in its maturity — all of the band members have passed the half-century mark — Weezer remains inventive. You know it’s them the moment the music starts, but the reward is fresh for those with ears to hear.
On “Say Yes,” the first song on “The Gold Album,” Cuomo sings:
I only get one weird life I get to live
And I only get one chance to show you who I am
Make the most of it
Cuomo and his Weezer compatriots are the antithesis to 1970s rockers striking poses as too tough to handle street-fighting men, or the 1980s days of glam pop metal. Yet they do rock, surprisingly hard at times, without once failing to let the listener know that they also think rock’s excesses are silly but still love the music. “The Gold Album” by Weezer is a welcome reminder of how much fun rock’n’roll can be when performed by professionals.
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