Weezer
OK Human


4.0
excellent

Review

by Mateo Ottie CONTRIBUTOR (33 Reviews)
January 30th, 2021 | 21 replies


Release Date: 2021 | Tracklist

Review Summary: OK Rivers...

In 2021, everything is digital. Not just the obvious things like physical forms of media or entertainment, but the way we live our lives is as well. That’s the premise Rivers and company have created 'OK Human' around, which the title of the record is, of course, a homage to Radiohead’s OK Computer, an album that predicted the takeover of technology and how it controls us.*

'OK Human' puts Rivers Cuomo’s criticism of technology on full display, being fully recorded during the COVID-19 lockdowns with entirely analog equipment and a 38-piece orchestra. Weezer have once again ditched their signature guitar sound, but this time for 70s-influenced orchestral pop, which unlike the band’s previous attempts to change their sound, works surprisingly well, with the string section filling the same gaps their wall of guitar noise usually fills, but somehow with the same energy level, which is a huge testament to the band’s ability to write well-crafted songs and to River’s mastery of creating catchy hooks and melodies. Jake Sinclair’s production on 'OK Human' is also near perfect and the tracks blend seamlessly with each other, further making the album’s listening experience even more enjoyable.

While Weezer ditching guitars isn’t anything new and most of the album still sounds like late-2010s Weezer, 'OK Human' feels like the culmination of Weezer’s pop experimentation actually done right, taking the more stripped down and melodic elements from the 'Black Album' and 'Pacific Daydream', but executing the sound extremely well, with some of the best melodies and hooks the band has had in a long time, as well as some of the most introspective and personal lyrics Rivers has written in even longer. That’s not to say, however, that there is a lack of guitars on the album, with acoustic and crunchy sounding guitars often accompanying the orchestral arrangements, providing energy and dynamics to the album's sound.*

'OK Human' sees Rivers writing some of the most vulnerable lyrics he may ever release, dealing with his anxieties and fears during the lockdown with some of the album’s darkest moments being the closing track, “La Brea Tar Pits”, or “Dead Roses”. However, that’s not to say the album lacks “Weezerisms”, because they are, of course, all over this album, (“gosh darn this cast iron lounger, my butt will bruise” is literally a line in “Aloo Gobi” or in “Playing My Piano”, a song about Rivers getting so into playing music that Kim Jong Un could blow up his city and he wouldn’t even notice, for example). But the album’s overall theme is darker than previous records.

The lone single and opening track to the album “All My Favorite Songs” sets the tone for the record with an upbeat and happy sounding piano-centric instrumental contrasting with lyrics about the internal conflict Rivers Cuomo feels between what he desires and how it negatively affects him and the confusion it causes, with songs like “Grapes Of Wrath” showing Rivers getting back into his love for reading, except for that he is actually listening to an audiobook on Audible, continuing his struggle with his realization that technology has encompassed every corner of his life, with “Numbers”, “Here Comes The Rain”, and “Screens” revealing social media’s negative impact on mental health and his fear of what the world will look like in 21 years because of it and his disconnect with family and friends because of technology.

'OK Human' is a solid, but short record marking what appears to be an upward trend in Weezer’s discography 27 years since the release of the 'Blue Album', with the promising ‘Van Weezer’ releasing in May and three more records on the way, all slated to also be produced with Jake Sinclair. It’s the best record they have put out in several years and is very enjoyable throughout its entire 30-minute runtime, sonically feeling fresh but also nostalgic at the same time.



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Comments:Add a Comment 
Crxmateo
Contributing Reviewer
January 30th 2021


170 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

Honestly surprised this album wasn't reviewed by some troll yet. OK Human has absolutely no right to be as good as it is, especially after Weezer being a band for 27 years. I recently got hired to be a writer for CaliberTV, so this review will also be posted over there tomorrow morning.





deathschool
January 30th 2021


28940 Comments

Album Rating: 3.0

I like the strings



Also, good review

insomniac15
Staff Reviewer
January 30th 2021


6253 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5

Three more records on the way? Okaaay..

Rowan5215
Emeritus
January 30th 2021


47995 Comments

Album Rating: 4.2 | Sound Off

four lol, one for each season

ieatbabies795
January 30th 2021


841 Comments

Album Rating: 1.5

A 4? Hmm didn’t think I was gonna check this out but still a little hesitant



Good review, pos

Shemson
January 30th 2021


4157 Comments

Album Rating: 4.5

Nice review, I had no interest in listening to Weezer in 2021 but it sounds like there’re a lot of interesting things going on. Might check next week

Sinternet
Contributing Reviewer
January 30th 2021


26772 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0 | Sound Off

bruh why is this so good

DDDeftoneDDD
January 30th 2021


22825 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5 | Sound Off

Ok...how s this if you hated the black album?

Kompys2000
January 30th 2021


9483 Comments


I'm sure it sucks in a completely different way

rockarollacola
January 30th 2021


2264 Comments


This isn't Van Weezer

WhiteNoise
January 30th 2021


3903 Comments


Being a Weezer fan is fun because you can never pick if the album is going to be great or a complete turd. There’s literally no middle ground.

JesperL
Staff Reviewer
January 30th 2021


5675 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5 | Sound Off

it's like those jelly beans where some/most of em taste like rotten eggs or whatever

this one's good tho,

Lucman
January 30th 2021


5537 Comments

Album Rating: 2.5 | Sound Off

It's good. That's about as much enthusiasm as I can muster for this band anymore.

Lucman
January 30th 2021


5537 Comments

Album Rating: 2.5 | Sound Off

Okay, I do really like Numbers though. Didn't know they had a song like that in em.

Sinternet
Contributing Reviewer
January 30th 2021


26772 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0 | Sound Off

numbers is the highlight yeah

claygurnz
January 30th 2021


7683 Comments

Album Rating: 3.0

This is pretty cool, my favourite since White. Can see it growing to a 3.5 eventually.

BlitzPhoenix98
January 30th 2021


202 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5 | Sound Off

Yep, definitely their best since White. Now I'd like it if Van Weezer would be as good as this, but I doubt it.

Sowing
Moderator
January 30th 2021


44542 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

They've done better than this, but this occupies a unique enough place in their discography that I could see it becoming special for that reason alone. As it stands, OK Human is easily their best since White.

BlownSpeakers
January 30th 2021


132 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

I was a fan of EWBAITE and White but Pacific Daydream scared me off again. But this review definitely has gotten me interested, will check out.

Crxmateo
Contributing Reviewer
January 30th 2021


170 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

@DDDeftoneDDD I loved this album but didn’t like the black album at all.



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