Weezer is back and better than ever with a new single released, an album on the way, a tour announcement, and a brand-new label.
The California alternative rock band Weezer have been teasing an announcement for a couple of weeks now. The band posted a series of cryptic symbols with a snippet of a new track playing over.
This led to March 26 when they announced their brand new “Weezer: The Gathering” tour, beginning this fall. Their new tour will see them traveling across the United States, with support from the bands The Shins and Silversun Pickups.
After this initial announcement, Weezer began promoting the tour with what they are calling “The Gathering–Initiation Week.” Their initiative consists of them surprising fans at trivia nights, setting up rooftop concerts, popping up at a pinball and comic shop, and even hosting their very own pickleball tournament.
All of these events featured a special preview performance of their first single since 2022: “Shine Again.” This song is their initial release since signing with new label Reprise Records. Frank Sinatra began Reprise Records in 1960, and it is known for housing rock icons such as Green Day, Stevie Nicks, and My Chemical Romance.
“Shine Again,” as well as Weezer’s upcoming album, features production from the prolific producers Klas Åhlund and Kenny Beats.
Åhlund has a wide range of credits to his name, from Katy Perry and The Weeknd to his most frequent collaborator, Swedish rock band Ghost. Beats has a similarly wide profile of artists’ collaborations, mainly in the hip-hop sphere. However, he is no stranger to branching out into the rock genre, providing production for albums from IDLES, Provoker, and Geese.
The sound of this new track is quite a return to form for the band. It opens with heavy drums and a distorted electric guitar riff, reminding listeners they can still go a bit harder. Fans of their first album or 2016’s “White Album” will enjoy this heavier production, Åhlund himself noted in an interview with Stereogum that he studied their “White Album”.
Despite evoking their earlier pop rock sounds, the content is still in the lane of modern Weezer. Where their first album would have Rivers Cuomo and company lamenting over a failed romance, “Shine Again” has a distinctly optimistic message and vibe to it.
A list of mundane domestic tasks is what opens the song on its first verse. Despite the monotony, the song builds into a bombastic chorus with Cuomo shouting that “the sun inside will shine again.”
Everything together suggests this song is about having confidence in yourself despite the challenges of everyday life. As the members of Weezer have grown older,questions about their ability to recapture their earlier energy have lingered. This song proves they still have it in them and can indeed shine again.
While no official announcement has been given for their upcoming album, the band posts on their Instagram that this is just the beginning. Their “The Gathering” tour does not begin until Sept. 8, leaving plenty of time for a release.
You can stream “Shine Again” on all available platforms and check out “The Gathering” tour dates on their website.
