SZNZ: Spring

SZNZ: Spring is the first (of four) in the SZNZ series of EPs by Weezer. It was released on March 20, 2022 by Crush Music. The album was produced by Weezer's frequent collaborators Jake Sinclair and Suzy Shinn, as well as new collaborator Ethan Gruska.
==Overview==
The SZNZ concept was first mentioned by Rivers Cuomo in an interview with i in January of 2021.Goggins, Joe. "Weezer: ‘Our fans don’t seem to age out. We must be doing something right’" i. 21 January 2022. https://inews.co.uk/culture/music/weezer-ok-human-van-weezer-new-album-rivers-cuomo-838914 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." Eastoe, Dillon. "Weezer: "I'm very anxious right now about what it means to be human" Upset. 29 January 2021. https://www.upsetmagazine.com/features/weezer-interview-feb21"Rivers Cuomo Song List (Public)" Google Sheets Archived on Wayback Machine, 30 January 2021: https://web.archive.org/web/20210130184003/https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ZYghbmvTreCO5JPI9AEN-iLwnE7VYqoUW4MrO-Znr98/edit#gid=966375241 Archived from the original: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ZYghbmvTreCO5JPI9AEN-iLwnE7VYqoUW4MrO-Znr98/edit#gid=966375241:File:Sznz_google_doc.png"weezer: SZNZ" Google Sheets. Archived by Wayback Machine on 17 February 2022: https://web.archive.org/web/20220217022151/https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1BGWLEmZohpOPaLBPe132FMrHvSgyw8PHt8k93AmZ0kQ/edit#gid=0 Archived from the original: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1BGWLEmZohpOPaLBPe132FMrHvSgyw8PHt8k93AmZ0kQ/edit#gid=0
Early in the planning stages for SZNZ , Cuomo expressed intent to work with OK Human arranger and conductor Rob Mathes, as well as what Cuomo described as "[their] own version of the Wrecking Crew,"Rivers Cuomo, Riverchat :File:Wrecking_crew_mention.png though this idea was later scrapped.Geewiz "sznz hypé thread (@DAN ask Rivers about the Wilson cover he did I want to listen to it)" All Things Weezer 18 August 2021. https://allthingsweezer.com/index.php?threads/sznz-hyp%C3%A9-thread-dan-ask-rivers-about-the-wilson-cover-he-did-i-want-to-listen-to-it.57283/page-142#post-2008505 Screenshot: :File:Wrecking_crew_out.png
On February 2, 2022, Cuomo shared a Google spreadsheet with fans which included the release dates, possible producers, planned tone, and planned singles for each EP. On February 27, Cuomo uploaded a video to his TikTok account utilizing a snippet of the lead single "A Little Bit of Love," in hopes of promoting the song."Mr. Rivers' Discord" Discord. 6 January 2022. Screenshot: :File:Discord-rivers-tiktokpowerful.png
On March 11, the band confirmed March 20 as the release date of Spring through social media with "A Little Bit of Love" releasing on March 16.@weezer "This year we’re releasing 4 EPs inspired by magic, Pagan myths, religious rituals, Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons, Shakespeare & more (so much more). Each one will take you on an enchanting journey. The first of the four EPs, SZNZ: Spring is coming out on the Spring Equinox, 3/20." Twitter 11 March 2022. https://twitter.com/Weezer/status/1502313540044079104
On March 16, Cuomo used his game, Weezle (a Weezer-themed spin on the popular web game ), to preview snippets of the forthcoming Spring songs.@RiversCuomo "For the next few days, Weezle will be featuring songs from our upcoming album, SZNZ: Spring. I know it will be hard to guess the words to songs you don't know, but the reward will be that much sweeter.
https://weezle.web.app" Twitter. 16 March 2022. https://twitter.com/RiversCuomo/status/1504277581599707136 On the same day, the album and its respective merchandise was listed for pre-order on weezer.com. An "Emerald Green"-colored vinyl was made available exclusively for members of the Weezer Fan Club.
On March 20, the record was released digitally. CD copies of the EP began appearing at retail as early as April 23.Louis, Albert. Weezer Fan Club. Facebook. 23 April 2022. https://www.weezerpedia.com/wiki/File:Fan_Club_Facebook_Spring_CD.jpeg Upon seeing the final packaging design, Rivers Cuomo expressed skepticism about whether the CD was an official product.Cuomo, Rivers. Discord. 24 April 2022. :File:RC_Spring_CD_question.jpg
==Reception==
Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, assigned the album an average score of 63 based on 7 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews"."SZNZ: Spring [EP] by Weezer" Metacritic. https://www.metacritic.com/music/sznz-spring-ep/weezer
==Track listing==
===Songs previously in contention===
*"Good Morning" Cuomo, Rivers. Mister Rivers' Neighborhood. Archived by Wayback Machine, 2 June 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210602220254/https://books-r-fun.herokuapp.com/wiki/SZNS
*"Spell It Out" High as a Kite. All Things Weezer. 12 October 2020. :File:Haak_10122020.png
*"Get Off on the Pain"Cuomo, Rivers. Mister Rivers' Neighborhood. Archived by Wayback Machine, 15 July 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210715183313/https://books-r-fun.herokuapp.com/wiki/SZNS
==Personnel==
* Rivers Cuomo - lead vocals, backing vocals, lead guitar, rhythm guitar, writer
* Brian Bell - backing vocals, guitar, lead guitar
* Scott Shriner - backing vocals, bass
* Patrick Wilson - drums, writer (track 6)
* Ethan Gruska - producer
* Jake Sinclair - producer
* Suzy Shinn - producer
* Sejo Navajas - assistant engineer
* JC LeResche - engineer
* Jason Hiller - engineer
* Rachel White - engineer
* Rouble Kapoor - engineer
* Bernie Grundman - mastering
* Rob Kinelski - mixing (track 3)
* John Sinclair - mixing (tracks 1, 2, 4—7)
==Gallery==
Image:SZNZ-Spring-Bandphoto.jpg|A promotional photo of the band (dressed in the seasonal look) used on their music streaming and social media profiles. Photo taken by Brendan Walter.
Image:Szns-spring-promobanner.jpg|A promotional banner used by Weezer's social media accounts.
Image: F786F958-3FCC-48CB-BB4F-39B2C144FFCF.jpeg| The backside of the CD for the record.
Image:RiversSZNZshoot-3921.jpg|A behind-the-scenes photo from the Spring photoshoot posted by Rivers Cuomo to his Discord server.
Image:SZNZ promoletter.jpg|A promotional letter sent out on March 14 with an artificial rabbit's foot. The letter does not use the final spelling for SZNZ.
==See also==
*SZNZ
==References==
Category:Weezer albums
Category:2022 releasesCategory:SZNZ