Weezer (Gold Album)

Weezer
Studio album by
Weezer
ReleasedAugust 21, 2026 (2026-08-21)
Recorded
  • October 7–December 2025[1]
  • January 5–February 6, 2026[2][3]
StudiosPutnam Hill, Los Angeles
Genres
Length32:48
Labels
Producers
Weezer chronology
SZNZ: Winter
(2022)		 Weezer
(2026)
Singles from Weezer
  1. "Shine Again"
    Released: April 1, 2026
  2. "We Might as Well Be Strangers"
    Released: June 3, 2026
  3. "C.E.O."
    Released: August 5, 2026
  4. "Say Yes"
    Released: August 21, 2026

Weezer (also known as the Gold Album) is the twentieth studio album by the American alternative rock band Weezer, released on August 21, 2026 on Reprise Records and Crush Music physically, and Warner Records digitally. Produced by Klas Åhlund and Kenneth Blume, the album was preceded by the singles "Shine Again", "We Might as Well Be Strangers", "C.E.O." and "Say Yes".

Inspired by the collaborative nature of working on a forthcoming feature film together, the writing and recording sessions marked a return to all four band members – Rivers Cuomo, Patrick Wilson, Brian Bell and Scott Shriner – working together as creative equals, with Wilson noting: "We finally got our mission statement. Let’s just work together."[6]

Released to positive reviews from critics, it is the band's first studio release in four years since SZNZ, the band's series of four mini-albums released in 2022, and their first full-length album since Van Weezer in 2021.

Background

In 2022, Weezer released four seasonal mini-albums across the year under the name SZNZ, with the band announcing a six-night Broadway concert residency to perform the new material. The concerts were ultimately cancelled "due to low ticket sales and unbelievably high expenses,"[7] with the band also cancelling a planned boxset of the albums.[8]

Shortly after, the band began working on new material, alongside an improvised comedy feature film directed by Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman. The yet-to-be-released film will star the band itself, alongside Keanu Reeves, Ben Schwartz, Eric Andre, Johnny Knoxville, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Rainn Wilson.

Through working on the feature film together as a band, frontman Rivers Cuomo was impressed with the acting and improvised contributions of his bandmates, Brian Bell, Patrick Wilson and Scott Shriner, with Wilson noting: "It was so collaborative that Rivers was like, 'Hey, you know, I really love this. I really love how everyone’s just bringing what they do.'"[6] Cuomo elaborated: "I have never had so much fun as I did working with these guys during that time. We were improv acting and joking around, but it was so funny and so fun. And at the end of that process, I was like, ‘Wow, if only record-making could be that much fun, and feel so collaborative, and like we’re playing off of each other’s energy, and making stuff up together in the moment.’ And so I wanted to head into the making of this record with the goal of having that much fun with these guys."[9]

The band carried this collaborative nature into sessions for a new studio album, with the band opting to start afresh with new material in Orange County, California.[6] For several months, the four-piece worked on songs together in the living room of Panic! at the Disco drummer Dan Pawlovich's house.[6] Wilson described the songwriting sessions as "kind of a rebirth, in a cool way."[6]

Recording

For the first time, Cuomo deferred to Wilson's taste and judgement throughout the recording process, noting: "I had this super-strong instinct that I wanted Pat to take a turn at the wheel, as far as the overall aesthetic of the album. I come from a more grid-like background — I grew up on Metallica records where everything is super precise and machine-like. But I just had this feeling like, man, if we make the kind of record Patrick would actually listen to, that could be a real sweet spot for Weezer."[9] Bass guitarist Shriner praised the chemistry between himself and Wilson during the sessions, noting: "Lately, we’ve been communicating and coming together and really playing like a kind of rhythm section that I have always wanted us to be.”[6]

The band reached out to Swedish producer Klas Åhlund to produce the album, with Cuomo being a fan of his work on the Ghost albums Meliora (2015) and Impera (2022).[9] Åhlund suggested that the band also work with producer Kenneth Blume, who had produced Geese's acclaimed album, Getting Killed (2025), and had recently worked with Åhlund in producing Show Me the Body's fourth studio album, Alone Together (2026), together as a team. The band credited Blume with bringing a "brutal, raw energy" to the recording sessions.[9] Blume specifically favoured a small Gibson guitar amplifier from the 1940s during the recording process: "It looks like something you’d buy in a Sears catalog back in the mid-20th century. But if you turn it up all the way, it sounds brutal. It’s actually quite a bit like what our guitars sounded like before we made the Blue Album, before we started working with Ric Ocasek. It felt like coming home."[9]

The album was recorded to tape, with the band eschewing a digital approach.[10] Wilson, in turn, recorded his drums without a click track, noting: "You get a certain kind of tightness when you’re not playing along to a click track [...] It breathes and moves, but it’s just so together."[9] Shriner praised the sessions for bringing all four band members together in the studio at the same time, and described the analogue approach as having "actually some life in the music that I haven’t felt in such a long time."[9]

During the sessions, producer Blume introduced the band to the music of the indie rock band Wednesday.[9] Following the unexpected resurgence of Weezer's 2014 single "Go Away", which went on to become one of the band's highest streaming songs in 2026 and featured a duet with Best Coast frontwoman Bethany Cosentino, the band reached out to Wednesday frontman Karly Hartzman and the band's pedal steel player Xandy Chelmis to collaborate on the song "We Might as Well Be Strangers".[9]

Writing and composition

The album marks a return to significant songwriting contributions from Wilson and guitarist and backing vocalist Brian Bell. The tracks "We Might as Well Be Strangers", "Up in the Clouds", and "The LA Sound" all feature writing credits from Bell's longtime collaborator Luther Russell.[11] Russell most notably co-wrote the White Album single "L.A. Girlz". Additionally, the track "The Show Must Go On" is the first Weezer song to have a writing credit from band historian and assistant Karl Koch, as well as Åhlund.[11] According to a press release, it is intended to be the "most violent Weezer album ever".[12]

"C.E.O" was teased by Cuomo and Bell in late 2023 as a "meta and mind-bending" sequel to the Blue Album single "Undone – The Sweater Song".[13] "Up in the Clouds" originally began as a demo during sessions for Everything Will Be Alright in the End (2014).[14] The album's closing track, "The L.A. Sound", is described as "chronicling the band’s early touring days."[9]

Reflecting on the band's decision to make this their "gold" album, Bell noted: "Gold doesn’t necessarily represent what you would think, which is having a hit, or currency, or gold-plated. It’s more in line with the expression ‘Stay gold,’ which Ponyboy says in The Outsiders, which essentially means having a sense of wonder. This album is about getting back to that sense of wonder as a band."[9]

Cover artwork

The album cover is the first in Weezer's color albums to not feature a photo of the band. However, according to the band, it features "four symbols believed to represent its creators".[15]

Release and promotion

On March 26, 2026, Weezer announced a tour titled The Gathering and teased the release of the lead single from the album, titled "Shine Again", which was released on April 1.[16] On June 3, the band fully announced the album and released the second single, "We Might as Well Be Strangers", featuring Wednesday.[17] The second single also received a music video.[14] On August 5, Weezer released the third single, "C.E.O.", and announced international tour dates for The Gathering.[18]

This is Weezer's first release through Reprise Records.[19] They had previously been signed to Atlantic Records since 2016's White Album.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Any Decent Music?7.3/10[20]
Metacritic79/100[21]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusicStarStarStarStarHalf star[22]
ConsequenceB+[23]
Exclaim!7/10[24]
Kerrang!3/5[25]
No Ripcord7/10
Our Culture MagStarStarStarHalf star[26]
Pitchfork6.1/10[27]
Rolling StoneStarStarStarStar[28]
Sputnikmusic3.8/5[29]
Under the Radar8.5/10[30]

On Any Decent Music?, the album has a weighted average score of 7.3 out of 10 from ten critic scores.[20] According to Metacritic, it received "generally favorable" reviews based on a weighted average score of 79 out of 100 from nine critic scores.[21]

Track listing

Credits adapted from Deezer.[11]

Weezer track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Say Yes"Rivers Cuomo3:04
2."Shine Again"Patrick Wilson4:06
3."Don't Make It Weird"
  • Cuomo
  • Wilson
2:49
4."We Might as Well Be Strangers" (featuring Wednesday)
3:34
5."C.E.O."Cuomo2:54
6."Hoops"
  • Cuomo
  • Wilson
2:35
7."Nowhere"Wilson2:48
8."The Show Must Go On"
3:23
9."Up in the Clouds"
  • Cuomo
  • Bell
  • Russell
3:39
10."The LA Sound"
  • Bell
  • Russell
3:57
Total length:32:48

Personnel

Credits are adapted from Tidal.[31]

Weezer

Additional contributors

Charts

Chart performance for Weezer (Gold Album)
Chart (2026) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[32] 50
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[33]35
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[34]44
French Albums (SNEP)[35]198
French Rock & Metal Albums (SNEP)[36] 14
German Rock & Metal Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[37] 15
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[38]30
Japanese Digital Albums (Oricon)[39] 13
Japanese Download Albums (Billboard Japan)[40] 7
Japanese Rock Albums (Oricon)[41] 5
Japanese Top Albums Sales (Billboard Japan)[42] 34
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[43] 32
Scottish Albums (Official Charts)[44]5
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[45]23
UK Albums (Official Charts)[46]45

References

  1. ↑ Cuomo, Rivers. "Tomorrow is the first pre-production rehearsal for the next batch of songs." Discord message sent to Mister Rivers Neighborhood on 15 December 2025, via Weezerpedia
  2. ↑ Cuomo, Rivers. "It all starts Monday. Back with the boys." Discord message sent to Mister Rivers Neighborhood on 3 January 2026, via Weezerpedia.
  3. ↑ Cuomo, Rivers. "We finish recording this week..." Discord message sent to Mister Rivers Neighborhood on 5 February 2026, via Weezerpedia.
  4. ↑ Harris, Ron (August 18, 2026). "Music Review: Weezer's self-titled 'Gold Album' delivers faithful, nasal power pop". AP News. Retrieved August 23, 2026.
  5. ↑ Scanga, Anthony (August 21, 2026). "Weezer: 'Gold Album' review — shockingly good!". Studio One. Retrieved August 23, 2026.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Meredith, Kyle (August 19, 2026). "Weezer's Scott Shriner and Patrick Wilson on The Gold Album, Renewed Chemistry, and Weezer Movie: Podcast". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved August 20, 2026.
  7. ↑ Arcand, Rob (August 10, 2022). "Weezer Cancel 2022 Broadway Residency Due to "Low Ticket Sales," Rivers Cuomo Says". Pitchfork. Retrieved August 20, 2026.
  8. ↑ Duran, Anagricel (July 29, 2024). "Weezer cancel 'SZNZ' box set due to low sales". NME. Retrieved August 20, 2026.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Atkins, Leslie (July 5, 2026). "How Weezer Got 'Violent' on New LP: 'Less Talk, More Rock'". Webnewswire. Retrieved August 20, 2026.
  10. ↑ Baccigaluppi, John (April 6, 2026). "New Single from Weezer produced by Kenny Blume". Tape Op. Retrieved August 22, 2026.
  11. 1 2 3 "Weezer". Deezer (in Brazilian Portuguese). June 3, 2026. Archived from the original on June 24, 2026. Retrieved June 3, 2026.
  12. ↑ Balzano, Cata (June 3, 2026). "Weezer Going for the 'Gold' on Next Self-Titled Album: Here's the Release Date". Billboard. Retrieved August 6, 2026.
  13. ↑ Weintraub, Steven; Jones, Tamera (December 14, 2023). "Weezer's "Undone (The Sweater Song)" Is Getting a Sequel (Exclusive)". Collider. Archived from the original on October 30, 2025. Retrieved June 7, 2026.
  14. 1 2 Paul, Larisha (June 3, 2026). "Weezer Preview Self-Titled Album With 'We Might As Well Be Strangers' Featuring Wednesday". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on June 3, 2026. Retrieved June 4, 2026.
  15. ↑ Taysom, Joe (June 3, 2026). "Weezer announce new album, share new Wednesday collaboration". faroutmagazine.co.uk. Retrieved August 30, 2026.
  16. ↑ Dunworth, Liberty (April 2, 2026). "Weezer share feel-good Kenny Beats-produced new single 'Shine Again'". NME. Archived from the original on April 2, 2026. Retrieved June 3, 2026.
  17. ↑ Lances, Jill (June 3, 2026). "Weezer going gold with new self-titled album". ABC Audio. Archived from the original on June 3, 2026. Retrieved June 3, 2026.
  18. ↑ Coplan, Chris (August 5, 2026). "Weezer Unveil New Single "C.E.O.", New Tour Dates". Retrieved August 5, 2026.
  19. ↑ Kaufman, Gil (April 1, 2026). "Weezer Drop Rocking New Single 'Shine Again': Listen". Billboard. Archived from the original on April 1, 2026. Retrieved April 3, 2026.
  20. 1 2 "Weezer [Gold Album] by Weezer reviews". Any Decent Music?. Retrieved August 28, 2026.
  21. 1 2 "Weezer (Gold Album)". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved August 26, 2026.
  22. ↑ Sendra, Tim. "Weezer [Gold Album] Review". AllMusic. Retrieved August 21, 2026.
  23. ↑ Reed, Ryan (August 19, 2026). "Weezer Don't Have to Fake It on The Gold Album: Review". Consequence. Retrieved August 21, 2026.
  24. ↑ Hudson, Alex (August 18, 2026). "The Gold Album Has the Sound (If Not the Songwriting) of Classic Weezer". Exclaim!. Retrieved August 21, 2026.
  25. ↑ MacKinnon, James (August 19, 2026). "Album review: Weezer – Weezer". Kerrang!. Retrieved August 21, 2026.
  26. ↑ Pappis, Konstantinos (August 19, 2026). "Album Review: Weezer, Weezer (The Gold Album)". Our Culture Mag. Retrieved August 21, 2026.
  27. ↑ Currin, Grayson Haver (August 24, 2026). "Weezer: Weezer (Gold Album)". Pitchfork. Retrieved August 24, 2026.
  28. ↑ Dolan, Jon (August 20, 2026). "Weezer's 20th Album Is Good as Gold". Rolling Stone. Retrieved August 21, 2026.
  29. ↑ Sowing. "Review: Weezer – The Gold Album". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved August 27, 2026.
  30. ↑ Teo-Blockey, Celine (August 26, 2026). "Weezer – Weezer (Gold Album)". Under the Radar. Retrieved August 27, 2026.
  31. ↑ Weezer / Weezer / Credits (Media notes). Warner Records. August 21, 2026. Retrieved August 21, 2026.
  32. ↑ "ARIA Top 50 Albums Chart". Australian Recording Industry Association. August 31, 2026. Retrieved August 28, 2026.
  33. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Weezer – Weezer" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 30, 2026.
  34. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Weezer – Weezer" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 30, 2026.
  35. ↑ "Top Albums (Semaine du 28 août 2026)". Syndicat national de l'édition phonographique. Retrieved August 31, 2026.
  36. ↑ "Top Rock & Metal Albums (Semaine du 28 août 2026)" (in French). Syndicat national de l'édition phonographique. Retrieved August 31, 2026.
  37. ↑ "Offizielle Deutsche Charts: Top 20 Rock/Metal-Charts – 28 August 2026" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved August 31, 2026.
  38. ↑ "Oricon Top 50 Albums: 2026-08-31" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved August 26, 2026.
  39. ↑ "Oricon Top 50 Digital Albums: 2026-08-31" (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on August 26, 2026. Retrieved August 27, 2026.
  40. ↑ "Billboard Japan Top Download Albums – Week of August 26, 2026". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved August 27, 2026.
  41. ↑ "Oricon Top 20 Rock Albums: 2026-08-31" (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on August 26, 2026. Retrieved August 26, 2026.
  42. ↑ "Billboard Japan Top Albums Sales – August 26, 2026". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved August 27, 2026.
  43. ↑ "Official Top 40 Albums". Recorded Music NZ. August 28, 2026. Retrieved August 28, 2026.
  44. ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart on 28/8/2026 – Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 29, 2026.
  45. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Weezer – Weezer". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 31, 2026.
  46. ↑ "Official Albums Chart on 28/8/2026 – Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 29, 2026.
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