Will Meyer | Rawr
For many millennials, Weezer was a major part of childhood.
The words Beverly Hills need but be mentioned for a song of the same title to pop into the minds of most anyone who bothered to listen to a radio program in the last two decades.
The mellow strum of the E minor chord in “Island of the Sun,” was immortalized the moment lead singer Rivers Cuomo first chanted “hip hip,” methodically into his microphone. 
From these two songs alone, it is obvious to see the impact the group has had on the world since their debut in 1994.
Yet, this is only the beginning of the band’s oeuvre. This point is further proven by the release of a new album twenty-two years after “The Blue Album,” hit music stores.
“Weezer (White Album),” is the band’s tenth studio album released in the long career of the song making, and embodies their California roots just as well as their first album did.
In a statement in January for Rolling Stone magazine, Cuomo said “I wanted the album to make you feel like you were there with us SoCal weirdos even if you’re in Milwaukee in December.”
Having listened to the album, I can say that it accomplishes this.
The April 1 release date couldn’t have been timed more perfectly.
With people yearning for spring weather, a burst of nostalgia and some smooth California alternative is bound to impress the most devout groupies and new listeners alike.
After the release of “King of the World,” an angst-filled ballad for all us who day dream maybe a little too much, fans understood that this album would not veer from the trail too far, but rather re-explore musical themes that the band has explored in the past.
This sounds rather imitative and unoriginal, but Weezer has managed it well.
For me, this album is a kind of salute to albums of the past, honing into styles that the band has long held as characteristically unique.
I experienced it for the first time on a late night walk.
As usually happens, my mood was especially reflective, and listening to Weezer, new music or not, didn’t help much.
Though some aspects of the group’s old music has been preserved throughout their career, there is definitely innovation in “The White Album.”
While listening to each song for the first time, it may be difficult to tear your ears away from jamming to the new beats, but if you can make yourself listen to the lyrics every once and a while, you might just find something new.
In the statement with Rolling Stone, Cuomo explained his inspiration for the album as “my experiences hanging around the Westside of Los Angeles, which has been our home since Weezer began. Hanging out with people in Venice and Santa Monica, the beach, the Hare Krishnas, the Sikh on roller blades with the guitar, girls on Tinder within a 4 mile radius, seeing other bands, the kids from La Sera.”
The ebb and flow of the album makes for a well-structured conglomeration of heady rhythms that will transport every listener somewhere else — whether that be Memory Lane or Malibu.