Friday Flash(back) - Weezer - Weezer (Gold Album)

Weezer (also known as the Gold Album) is the 12th studio album by Weezer, released last Friday.

Produced by Klas Åhlund and Kenneth Blume, the album was preceded by the singles Shine Again, We Might as Well Be Strangers, & C.E.O..

Inspired by the collaborative nature of working on a forthcoming feature film together, the writing and recording sessions marked a return to all four band members – Rivers Cuomo, Patrick Wilson, Brian Bell and Scott Shriner – working together as creative equals.

It is the band's first studio release in four years since SZNZ, the band's series of four mini-albums released in 2022, and their first full-length album since Van Weezer in 2021.

Weezer's Gold Album has thus far, received generally favorable reviews from critics. So who are Weezer?

Weezer formed in Los Angeles, California, back in 1992. Since 2001, the band has consisted of Rivers Cuomo (lead vocals, guitar, keyboards), Patrick Wilson (drums), Brian Bell (guitar, keyboards, backing vocals), and Scott Shriner (bass, keyboards, backing vocals). They have sold 10 million albums in the United States and over 35 million worldwide.

After signing to Geffen Records in 1993, Weezer released their acclaimed self-titled debut album, also known as the Blue Album, in May 1994. Backed by music videos for the singles Undone – The Sweater Song, Buddy Holly, & Say It Ain't So, the Blue Album became a multi-platinum success. 

Weezer's second album, Pinkerton (1996), featuring a darker, more abrasive sound, was a commercial failure and initially received mixed reviews, but achieved cult status and acclaim later. Both the Blue Album and Pinkerton have been cited among the best albums of the 1990s. Following the tour for Pinkerton, the founding bassist, Matt Sharp, left the band and Weezer went on hiatus.

In 2001, Weezer returned with the Green Album with their new bassist, Mikey Welsh. With a more pop-oriented sound, and promoted by singles Hash Pipe & Island in the Sun, it was a commercial success and received mostly positive reviews. 

After the Green Album tour, Welsh left for health reasons and was replaced by Scott Shriner. Weezer's fourth album, Maladroit (2002), incorporated a hard rock sound and achieved mostly positive reviews, but weaker sales. 

Make Believe (2005) received mixed reviews; however, its single Beverly Hills became Weezer's first single to top the US Modern Rock Tracks chart and their first to reach the top ten on the Billboard Hot 100.

In 2008, Weezer released the Red Album. Its lead single, Pork and Beans, became the third Weezer song to top the Modern Rock Tracks chart, backed by a Grammy-winning music video. 

Raditude (2009) and Hurley (2010) both featured more modern pop production, along with songs written with other artists, receiving further mixed reviews and moderate sales. 

Everything Will Be Alright in the End (2014) and the White Album (2016) returned to a rock style that was reminiscent of their 1990s sound, mixed with modern alternative production, and achieved more positive reviews, while Pacific Daydream (2017) returned to a more mainstream pop sound.

In 2019, Weezer surprise-released an album of covers, the Teal Album, followed by the Black Album.

In 2021, they released OK Human, which featured an orchestral pop sound and received acclaim, followed by the hard rock-inspired Van Weezer. In 2022, Weezer released SZNZ, a series of four mini-albums based on the four seasons. Now comes their twentieth album, the Gold Album, which you can stream below to bring on the weekend!

Album of the Week - Offical Music Videos

Album of the Week - JEM CASSAR-DALEY - {Tattoos Used to Come Off in the Pool}

Friday Flash(back) - Kate Miller-Heidke - The Kiss and the Abyss

The Kiss and the Abyss is the sixth studio album by tKate Miller-Heidke. Upon release, Miller-Heidke told The Music, "The main guiding principle for these songs was gothic folk. I grew up loving folk music, obviously, and that's how I became a songwriter. My early stuff is all pretty folky, but I think what I love about the gothic element is that it allows me to make folk music theatrical, more experimental and expansive – even a little weirder than traditional folk music, too."

Kate Melina Miller-Heidke, although classically trained, she has generally followed a career in alternative pop music. 

She signed to Sony Australia, Epic in the US and RCA in the UK, but since 2014 has been an independent artist.

Four of her solo studio albums have peaked in the top 10 of the ARIA Albums Chart, Curiouser (October 2008), Nightflight (April 2012), O Vertigo! (March 2014) and Child in Reverse (October 2020). Her most popular single, The Last Day on Earth (July 2009), reached No. 3 on the ARIA Singles Chart after being used in promos for TV soap, Neighbours, earlier in that year. 

At the ARIA Music Awards, Miller-Heidke has been nominated 17 times.

Kate represented Australia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 in Tel Aviv, Israel, with her song, Zero Gravity.

Miller-Heidke is the only person to have sung at Coachella, the New York Metropolitan Opera, and Eurovision. She has also won five Helpmann Awards.

Is there anything she can't do? Who will be the next Friday Flash(back)? Return next week to find out. No spoilers this week.

Album of the Week - Offical Music Videos

Album of the Week - VERA BLUE - {Modern Rituals}

 

Friday Flash(back) - DMA's - DMA's

DMA's just dropped their fifth self-titled studio album. The album is the band's first to be released via Wonderlick Entertainment partnering with Sony and RCA UK following a signed global deal.

The group will promote the album with acoustic in-store shows across the United Kingdom during the week of release. The album landed after multiple singles were released. My Baby's Place was released on 20 March as the album's lead single. It is the band’s first fully self-produced single.

Heatin Park was released alongside the album's announcement on 28 April. With Music Feeds staff writer saying "The new self-titled album marks a fresh chapter for the trio, blending their signature indie anthem sound with some new textures. Heatin Park is already showing off that range, gritty, distorted and stadium-sized – a sharp left turn from the dreamy vibes of My Baby’s Place.

Hurricane was released on 5 June as the album's third single, with a Music Talkers review saying [it] feels instantly familiar while still exploring new territory. It is classic DMA's in spirit, but with fresh textures that help the song stand apart from previous releases.

Killing Time was the final single released on 3 July, ahead of the albums release. 

DMA's are an iconic, Australian rock band forming back in 2012 in Sydney.

The band is composed of lead vocalist Tommy O'Dell, lead guitarist Matt Mason, and rhythm guitarist Johnny Took. They originally gained popularity for their debut single Delete and for their self-titled EP, which were both released in 2014. A long time ago now if you think about it.

The band have since gone on to release five studio albums: Hills End (2016), For Now (2018), The Glow (2020), How Many Dreams? (2023), and the below self titled release. 

Their four previous albums have peaked within the top 10 of the ARIA Albums Chart, with the latter two also reaching the top five in the UK and Scotland.

Next week it's former Voice and Eurovision queen, Kate Miller-Heidke. Flashback to her Sunday Spotlight in 2019.