Weezer’s winning streak continues on its self-titled “White Album”

In 2014, a surprising thing happened: Weezer released a good album. Let’s be honest—ever since The Red Album, every new Weezer record has been briefly hailed as a return to form, often by frontman Rivers Cuomo himself. And then, after a few days, fans would realize it didn’t have nearly the staying power of past efforts. Everything Will Be Alright In The End was the exception. It was self-deprecating without becoming self-parodic, and featured some of Cuomo’s most cathartic songs in years. Fans were left to wonder if it was a fluke, or if, at long last, Weezer had gone back to making vital music again. With the group’s 10th album, known somewhat audaciously as The White Album, Weezer’s return to form is real.

The band’s fourth self-titled record—following Blue, Green, and Red—is something of a concept album, based not around a story but more of a theme: summertime fun. Pretty much every song here relates to the season. The result is a fun, poppy album with several moments that would make Brian Wilson proud.

After a cursory glance at some of the song titles, you’d be forgiven for thinking this album had a case of Ratitude syndrome. Track names like “Thank God For Girls,” “L.A. Girlz,” and “Jacked Up” don’t inspire much confidence when you’re talking about a band that often lets banal silliness get the better of it. But of all those songs, “Thank God For Girls” is the only regrettable one. “Jacked Up” is about being simultaneously excited and scared in a blossoming relationship, while “L.A. Girlz” is an anthem that wouldn’t have felt out of place in the Pinkerton era.