SZNZ: Spring

Anyone paying attention to Weezer over the years could’ve seen SZNZ coming. Not only does it make Rivers Cuomo’s sense of craft and tradition almost comically explicit (it opens with a riff on an 18th-century Vivaldi theme and Cuomo singing about how Shakespeare makes him happy [“Opening Night”]), but it also gives a kind of historical precedent for his eternal boyishness: He isn’t just a kid wallowing away in his suburban bedroom; he’s a cherub on the wings of a bluebird (“Angels on Vacation”) or Adam before the fall (“The Garden of Eden”). As for the soaring choruses and ripping mandolins, that’s just Van Halen, 200 years ahead of schedule. They’re always funny, but they’re never exactly kidding.