For anyone keeping score at home: 2020 was going to be the year of Van Weezer -- the big riffs rock album Weezer made as an homage to the metal bands they loved growing up -- until, thanks to the global pandemic, it suddenly wasn't. The entire time, however, Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo was busy at the piano, writing a very different album that took inspiration from another vital musical touchstone of his youth: The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds. Throughout the summer of Covid-19, he and the band -- along with a 38 piece orchestra -- chipped away at masked recording sessions using all analogue technology until the record was complete. The result is an album called OK Human -- a cheeky nod to Radiohead's technophobic future-trip OK Computer, but sounding nothing at all like that record.
Taking the listener bit by bit through parts of Cuomo's every day, it's a Technicolor symphonic spree that meditates on how over-and-under-connected we all are, particularly in a year where we can see each other with greater ease, but can't be physically near each other at all. In addition to it being the first time Weezer have ever featured full orchestration on any of their records, OK Human is also packed to the brim with some of the best, most personal songs Cuomo has written in the last decade, all of which shine brighter and bolder with splashes of string and horn arrangements courtesy of album producer Jake Sinclair and arranger Rob Mathes. While showcasing Cuomo’s impeccable songwriting skills, OK Human also has shades of beloved albums of yore -- not just Pet Sounds, but Harry Nilsson’s Nilsson Schmilsson; Randy Newman’s self-titled debut; the stacked harmonies of The Carpenters’ records; even tints of Francoise Hardy’s Message Personnel. It is possibly the only record ever created that waxes poetic on themes of loneliness, disconnection, and reaching middle age alongside references to Mrs. Dalloway, Blackpink, the La Brea Tar Pits, Audible, and vegetarian Indian takeout, among others.
It’s hard to imagine any other band who came up in the alt haze of the 90s creating a simply perfect orchestral pop album, but that is exactly what Weezer's done; OK Human is a testament to the excellent, enduring melodies Cuomo has written since Weezer's inception, and the ones he continues to write today.
Weezer will be touring this summer as part of the rescheduled Hella Mega tour alongside Green Day and Fall Out Boy; all tour dates are below.
OK Human track listing:
1. All My Favorite Songs
2. Aloo Gobi
3. Grapes of Wrath
4. Numbers
5. Playing My Piano
6. Mirror Image
7. Screens
8. Bird With A Broken Wing
9. Dead Roses
10. Everything Happens For A Reason
11. Here Comes The Rain
12. La Brea Tar Pits
Weezer tour dates:
7/6/21 Berlin, Germany @ Wuhlheide
9/6/21 Vienna, Austria @ Ernst-Happel Stadion - Hella Mega Tour
10/6/21 Hradec Králové, Czechia @ Hradec Králové Airport
11/6/21 - 13/6/21 Nuremberg, Germany @ Rock Im Park
11/6/21 - 13/6/21 Nürburg, Germany @ Rock Im Park
16/6/21 Milan, Italy @ Ippodromo San Siro
17/6/21 Florence, Italy @ Firenze Rocks
20/6/21 Paris, France @ Paris La Defense Arena - Hella Mega Tour
21/6/21 Antwerp, Belgium @ Antwerps Sportpaleis - Hella Mega Tour
23/6/21 Groningen, Netherlands @ Stadspark - Hella Mega Tour
25/6/21 London, UK @ London Stadium - Hella Mega Tour
26/6/21 Huddersfield, UK @ John Smith’s Stadium - Hella Mega Tour
28/6/21 Glasgow, UK, @ Bellahouston Park - Hella Mega Tour
30/6/21 Dublin, Ireland @ TBC - Hella Mega Tour
14/7/21 Seattle, WA @ T-Mobile Park - Hella Mega Tour
17/7/21 Los Angeles, CA @ Dodger Stadium - Hella Mega Tour
18/7/21 San Diego, CA @ Petco Park - Hella Mega Tour
20/7/21 San Francisco, CA @ Oracle Park - Hella Mega Tour
24/7/21 Arlington, TX @ Globe Life Park - Hella Mega Tour
27/7/21 Atlanta, GA @ SunTrust Park - Hella Mega Tour
29/7/21 Houston, TX @ Minute Maid Park - Hella Mega Tour
31/7/21 Jacksonville, FL @ TIAA Bank Field - Hella Mega Tour
1/8/21 Miami, FL @ Hard Rock Stadium - Hella Mega Tour
4/8/21 New York, NY @ Citi Field - Hella Mega Tour
5/8/21 Boston, MA @ Fenway Park - Hella Mega Tour
8/8/21 Washington, DC @ Nationals Park - Hella Mega Tour
10/8/21 Detroit, MI @ Fox Theatre - Hella Mega Tour
13/8/21 Hershey, PA @ Hersheypark Stadium - Hella Mega Tour
15/8/21 Chicago, IL @ Wrigley Field - Hella Mega Tour
17/8/21 Toronto, ON @ Rogers Centre - Hella Mega Tour
19/8/21 Pittsburgh, PA @ PNC Park - Hella Mega Tour
20/8/21 Philadelphia, PA @ Citizens Bank Park - Hella Mega Tour
23/8/21 Minneapolis, MN @ Target Field - Hella Mega Tour
25/8/21 Commerce City, CO @ Dick’s Sporting Goods Park - Hella Mega Tour
