National

Hear Weezer's Surprise New Covers Album

By Robin Hilton

Published January 24, 2019 at 5:46 AM PST

This story was published more than 5 years ago.

Weezer surprised its fans this morning after dropping a collection of cover songs overnight. The self-titled "Teal" album features the band's members dressed like the cast of Miami Vice circa 1985, and much of the collection plays like an ode to '80s kitsch, including Weezer's cult-favorite cover of Toto's unstoppable hit "Africa." But the album also includes some surprising covers, including a version of Black Sabbath's "Paranoid," TLC's "No Scrubs" and Ben E. King's "Stand By Me."

Much like Weezer's by-the-book recreation of "Africa," the songs on the "Teal" album are nearly identical versions of the originals — Rivers Cuomo's voice is about the only indication that you're not listening to the actual bands that first penned the tracks. Guitarist Brian Bell takes lead vocals on "Paranoid" and does his best Ozzy Osbourne impression.

The surprise drop comes ahead of Weezer's upcoming "Black" album, due out March 1 on Atlantic Records.

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Corrected: January 23, 2019 at 9:00 PM PST

An earlier version of this story misidentified the singer on Weezer's "Paranoid" cover as Rivers Cuomo. It is the band's guitarist, Brian Bell.