WEEZER is one of the most popular groups to emerge in the post­ grunge alternative rock aftermath, with their unconventional style infusing their music with a quirky sense of humour and an endearing awkwardness that made songs from their debut album Weezer like “Buddy Holly”, and “Say It Ain’t So” into big modern rock hits during the mid­’90s.

None of the members of Weezer, especially leader Rivers Cuomo, were conventional rockers; they were kids who holed up in their garage to play along with their favourite records when they weren’t studying or watching TV. However, this did not detract from their massive success as arena­ filling megastars.

Produced by ex­Cars frontman Ric Ocasek, Weezer, more commonly known as the Blue Album, largely eschewed grunge’s angsty, soul­ baring howl, and the unapologetic riffs made it clear that the band was more influenced by the likes of Heaven Tonight than Raw Power. All the singles from their first album were helped immeasurably by clever videos, which may have made the songs into hits, but also made many critics believe the band was a one ­hit wonder.

Cuomos perversely felt the same way, and decided that the band would not be relying on any visual gimmicks for their second album, Pinkerton.

Shortly after the tour in support of Pinkerton was completed in 1997, Weezer affected what appeared to be a self­ imposed exile, which conversely turned out to increase their cult fan base.
While they were laying low, a whole new generation of emocore enthusiasts discovered Weezer’s diamond ­in ­the ­rough sophomore effort for the first time, and their audience grew despite not having a new album in the stores.

Encouraged by the support, Weezer brought themselves out of hiding to test the waters by landing a spot on the 2000 edition of the Warped Tour, where they were consistently the day’s highlight. Hooking up again with the producer of their 1994 debut Ric Ocasek, Weezer recorded what would be known as “The Green Album”, an informal title given by fans as it was actually their second self­titled release. The album was an immediate hit, debuting at number four in
May 2001 and camping out in the upper reaches of the charts for much of the spring/summer, during which such songs like “Hash Pipe” and “Island in the Sun” became radio and MTV staples, reestablishing Weezer as one of alt­rock’s top dogs.

After releasing their fourth album Maladroit’s “Keep Fishin’” as a single, the band focused on individual projects before reuniting to work on their fifth full­ length album Make Believe which saw the birth of hit single “Beverly Hills”, and which eventually went platinum in multiple countries across the globe. Weezer (Red Album) followed in 2008 and featured a more collaborative approach, with several band members contributing songwriting ideas and lead vocals to the tracks. One year later, the band returned with Raditude. Greeted with mixed reviews, it marked the last album for Universal. Weezer made the jump to the indies in 2010, releasing Hurley on Epitaph. The new album was quickly followed by two archival releases: an expanded deluxe edition of Pinkerton, and the outtakes collection Death to False Metal.

Weezer took their time returning to the studio, finally re­-emerging in the autumn of 2014 with Everything Will Be Alright in the End, a record produced once again by Ric Ocasek, and released on Republic Records. Greeted by generally strong reviews, the album debuted at number five on the Billboard 200 upon its October 2014 release.

In the fall of 2015, the band delivered a new pair of singles, and later in January 2016, Weezer delivered a third new single called “King of the World” and announced that their fourth self­-titled LP ­­ dubbed the “White Album” due to the colour of its artwork ­­ will be arriving this spring on Atlantic.

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Weezer's new album
The White Album, out April 1st 2016.