Weezer surprised their fans with a new album on Jan. 23. Ever since the release of Weezer’s cover of Toto’s Africa, many have discovered the band and become fans.

This all came about when in late 2017, a Twitter user tweeted “@RiversCuomo it’s about time you blessed the rains down in Africa.” After the internet clamored over how amazing the idea was, Weezer uploaded their cover of Africa in mid-2018. This single blew up and was a hit for the band which hasn’t happened since Pork and Beans from The Red Album.

Originally there was talk of a completely original March release called the Black Album that had fans excited. However, now there is more to hear and talk about because of the surprise new album, The Teal Album. The 10-track release is full of covers that pay homage to the 80s. Overall, it is nostalgic with pop hit covers that really shine through. From a joke to a whole album, Weezer got creative and gave each cover its own flavor. You can tell Weezer was excited to do certain songs by their little song bios on Apple Music. For example, I believe that Rivers Cuomo’s dedication to giving Billie Jean 75 vocal tracks is a really admirable thing. Especially since this whole album was a fun and indulgent project for fans.

The band has been appearing more often and gaining traction since their internet cover. There is no doubt that this album has also helped show their skills as musicians and their ability to uniquely take a tune and make it their own. Weezer has adopted and loved performing with their “internet meme” status.

There has been some negative backlash due to “No Scrubs” and the Apple bio saying their thoughts on changing the pronouns. However, the singer of TLC, Chili shared her thoughts and reacted positively to the cover.

Overall, the release is no classic Blue Album, but it is a wonderful new take and different from Weezer’s past albums that are worth giving a listen to. Whenever you are in the mood for oldies but goldies music, take a chance on Weezer.