SZNZ: Spring

The SZNZ concept was first revealed by Rivers Cuomo in an interview in January 2021.{{Cite web |last=Goggins |first=Joe |date=2021-01-21 |title=Weezer: 'Our fans don't seem to age out. We must be doing something right' |url=https://inews.co.uk/culture/music/weezer-ok-human-van-weezer-new-album-rivers-cuomo-838914 |access-date=2022-12-10 |website=inews.co.uk |language=en}} Cuomo stated that he wanted the Spring album to feature a "Happy, chill, stress-free" theme, later expressing a desire for an "acoustic, breezy" song in a similar vein to "Island in the Sun."{{Cite web |title=Weezer: "I'm very anxious right now about what it means to be human" |url=https://www.upsetmagazine.com/features/weezer-interview-feb21 |access-date=2022-12-10 |website=Upset |language=en}}

On February 2, 2022, Cuomo shared a Google spreadsheet with fans which included the release dates, possible producers, overall emotion, spirituality tone, planned genre, and planned singles for each of the SZNZ EP. Spring's emotion was set to be optimistic sorrow.{{Cite web |date=2022-02-17 |title=weezer: SZNS - Google Sheets |url=https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1BGWLEmZohpOPaLBPe132FMrHvSgyw8PHt8k93AmZ0kQ/edit#gid=0 |access-date=2022-12-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220217022151/https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1BGWLEmZohpOPaLBPe132FMrHvSgyw8PHt8k93AmZ0kQ/edit#gid=0 |archive-date=February 17, 2022 }} The spreadsheet also included the band's look and the aesthetic era the clothes and EP are based on. Aesthetically, the band linked SZNZ: Spring to a pre-Christian era with influences from Celts, Paganism, and Wicca.

On March 16, 2022, Weezer released the lead single, "A Little Bit Of Love".{{Cite web |title=NEW SONG: "A Little Bit Of Love" Out Now |url=https://weezer.com/news/2022/3/16/new-song-a-little-bit-of-love-out-now |access-date=2022-12-10 |website=Weezer |language=en-US}} On March 16, Cuomo used his game, Weezle (a Weezer-themed spin on the popular web game Wordle), to preview snippets of the forthcoming Spring songs.{{Cite tweet |access-date=30 July 2023 |url-access=limited |title=Register |number=1504277581599707136 |user=riverscuomo |url=https://twitter.com/riverscuomo/status/1504277581599707136}}

SZNZ: Spring was officially released on March 20, 2022, the day of the Spring Equinox.

{{Album ratings

| MC = 63/100{{Cite web|url=https://www.metacritic.com/music/sznz-spring-ep/weezer|title=SZNZ: Spring [EP] by Weezer|via=www.metacritic.com}}

| title = SZNZ: Spring ratings

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1score = {{rating|4|5}}{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/sznz-spring-mw0003687169 |title=SZNZ: Spring Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine |last=Erlewine |first=Stephen Thomas |date= |work=AllMusic |access-date=March 30, 2022}}

| rev2 = The A.V. Club

| rev2score = B−{{Cite web|url=https://www.avclub.com/weezer-sznz-spring-review-1848676708|title=Weezer's Spring EP has some of the band's best songs in years|website=The A.V. Club}}

| rev3 = Exclaim!

| rev3score = 5/10{{Cite web|url=https://exclaim.ca/music/article/weezer_sznz_spring_ep_album_review|title=Weezer's 'SZNZ: Spring' Is as Annoying as Renaissance Faire Cosplay | Exclaim!|website=exclaim.ca}}

| rev4 = Pitchfork

| rev4score = 4.4/10{{cite web |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/weezer-sznz-spring/ |title=Rivers Cuomo toys with Renaissance Faire shtick on the first of four planned EPs inspired by Vivaldi's The Four Seasons. |last=Gerber |first=Brady |date=March 29, 2022 |work=Pitchfork |access-date=March 30, 2022}}

| rev5 = Riff Magazine

| rev5score = {{rating|6|10}}{{Cite web|url=https://riffmagazine.com/album-reviews/weezer-sznz-spring/|title=REVIEW: Weezer brings a lot of good cheer on 'SZNZ: Spring'|date=March 17, 2022}}

| rev6 = Rolling Stone

| rev6score = {{rating|3|5}}{{Cite magazine |last=Grow |first=Kory |date=March 18, 2022 |title=Are Weezer a Band for All Seasons? Their new EP Spring Suggests … Maybe? |magazine=Rolling Stone |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/weezer-sznz-spring-review-1322923/ |access-date=March 20, 2022}}

| rev7score = 5/10{{Cite web|url=https://www.theneedledrop.com/articles/2022/3/weezer-sznz-spring|title=Weezer - SZNZ: Spring}}

}}

SZNZ: Spring received generally favorable reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 63 based on 7 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". In a mixed review, Alex Hudson at Exclaim! stated that, while not the worst Weezer album, "it's frustrating to hear them sabotaging their own songs in a futile attempt to pin down the sound of a season. So far, SZNZ feels less like a lofty concept and more like silly gimmick." Brady Gerber of Pitchfork was more critical, opining "unlike the expensive-sounding and often pretty OK Human—and a rarity for any proper Weezer release—SZNZ sounds cheap." However, Gerber considered the tracks "A Little Bit of Love" and "Wild at Heart" highlights of the album.

{{Track listing

| total_length = 20:51

| all_writing = Rivers Cuomo, except where noted

|title1 = Opening Night

|length1 = 2:27

|title2 = Angels on Vacation

|length2 = 3:25

|title3 = A Little Bit of Love

|writer3 = {{hlist|Cuomo|Dave Gibson|Jax|Wayne Wilkins}}

|length3 = 2:44

|title4 = The Garden of Eden

|length4 = 3:15

|title5 = The Sound of Drums

|writer5 = {{hlist|Cuomo|Abigail Spinner McBride}}

|length5 = 3:16

|title6 = All This Love

|writer6 = {{hlist|Cuomo|Patrick Wilson}}

|length6 = 2:50

|title7 = Wild at Heart

|length7 = 2:54

}}

{{Track listing

|headline = Vinyl-exclusive bonus track{{Cite web|url=https://weezerwebstore.com/products/szns-spring-splatter-vinyl|title= SZNZ: Spring Light Blue Vinyl (Pre Order)}}

|title7 = Across the Meadow{{ref|a}}

|length7 = 2:59

}}

Notes

:1.{{note|a}}The Vinyl version puts track 7 "Wild at Heart" as track 8 on the tracklist.

Weezer

• Rivers Cuomo – lead vocals, guitars, backing vocals
• Patrick Wilson – drums
• Brian Bell – guitars, backing vocals
• Scott Shriner – bass, backing vocals

Technical

• Jake Sinclair – production
• Suzy Shinn – production
• Ethan Gruska – production
• Bernie Grundman – mastering
• John Sinclair – mixing (1, 2, 4–7)
• Rob Kinelski – mixing (3)
• Eli Heisler – mix assistance (3)
• Rouble Kapoor – engineering
• Jason Hiller – engineering
• Rachel White – engineering
• JC LeResche – engineering
• Sejo Navajas – engineering assistance

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{{Weezer}}

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Category:2022 EPs

Category:Weezer EPs

Category:Atlantic Records EPs

Category:Folk rock albums by American artists