Weezer Share Details of Their Very Weird-Sounding 'SZNZ' EPs

"Marc Anthony dresses as MGMT at Burning Man. Face paint (black circles around eyes), headband"

Photo: Brendan Walter

BY Alex HudsonPublished Apr 12, 2022

Spring wasn't very good, but Weezer are pressing ahead with SZNZ, their EP series inspired by Vivaldi's The Four Seasons. Now, frontman Rivers Cuomo has shared the spreadsheet he's using to map out the series, and it includes some intriguing details about Summer, Autumn and Winter.

Summer, due out on June 20, is described as "Blue Album in the 21st century" with clean guitars, possibly chorus effects on the vocals and a mood of "youthful indignation." It's produced by Robopop (who previously produced Weezer's "Hero" single) and Suzy Shinn (who has worked on a few Weezer projects, most notably producing 2021's Van Weezer). If that all sounds quite promising, don't get ahead of yourself: the visual aesthetic is said to be "Marc Anthony dresses as MGMT at Burning Man. Face paint (black circles around eyes), headband." It's set in Rome in 44 BC, whatever the hell that means, and will use this ghastly Roman font. The first single is called "Records."

Autumn, due out September 22, meanwhile, will feature synths and samples, with influences including Franz Ferdinand's "Take Me Out" and the Strokes. It's said to convey anxiety, with the visual aesthetic being "crown of thorns" and "Jesus." Shinn will be back as producer, along with Tyler Cole (a frequent collaborator of Willow Smith), with the lyrics being inspired by Othello speaking to Desdemona as well as Jesus speaking to God. The first single is called "What Happens After You?" The main colour for the EP is black, which simply doesn't make any sense for autumn (which is clearly an orange season).

The religious vibes continue on the acoustic Winter, due out December 21, which will use an aesthetic described as "angel wings, stigmata, cape" and "St. Francis (in the Zeffirelli movie)." This will be Weezer's long-promised singer-songwriter album, inspired by Elliott Smith and featuring acoustic fingerpicking and strings. A producer hasn't been picked yet, but it will be "somebody in the theatre/opera/classical world." The lyrics are inspired by "King Lear and/or Romeo," who are two extremely different characters!

Check out the spreadsheet for these very weird-sounding EPs here. This appears to be the actual spreadsheet Cuomo is working off of, so it will likely be edited as the project progresses.
 

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