Weezer announces long-awaited ‘Black’ album, releases first single

American alt-rockers Weezer released a new single, Can’t Knock the Hustle, on Thursday morning to accompany the announcement of its fifth self-titled album, Weezer — also known as The Black Album.

The band took to Twitter to tease “a few fun surprises,” and at 8 a.m. ET, Weezer dropped the music video for the first single from The Black Album. They then teased the beginning of the “Black Album era,” and then concluded with a North American tour announcement featuring very special guests, Pixies.

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The Guy Blelloch-directed video stars Fall Out Boy‘s Pete Wentz as a hard-working Uber driver who vividly embodies what is known as “the hustle.”

The short has Wentz driving around L.A. carting around an obnoxious young couple. Their explicit romance is stopped short by an argument which results in a bloody mess.

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Following their cover of Toto’s Africa, it’s the perfect testament to the Weezer attitude and how they don’t need to take themselves so seriously. “Get the f**k out of the car,” Wentz screams as they arrive at the hospital and Can’t Knock the Hustle comes to an abrupt end.

2019 is already shaping up to be a great one for Weezer fans, with new music, new videos and a new direction on the horizon. Following the success of their summer stint with Pixies in 2018, they will release their 11th studio album in early spring.

WATCH BELOW: Weezer’s experimental single, Can’t Knock the Hustle, starring a highly agitated Pete Wentz

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Weezer formed in 1992. Throughout the band’s quarter-century-long career, it has released four self-titled albums, each one identified by the colour of the artwork. Weezer’s 1994 debut was The Blue Album, which featured hit singles Say it Ain’t So, Buddy Holly and Undone — The Sweater Song.

Since then we’ve seen The Green Album (2001), The Red Album (2008), and most recently, The White Album (2015). It is not uncommon for fans to speculate when and what the next colour will be.

It’s unclear why the nerd-rockers release these sporadic colour-themed works, but over the years fans have theorized endlessly, with the common conclusion being that each album marks a new direction for their sound.

Given their continuously changing musical approach, this is highly plausible. We’ve heard elements of pop, rock, surf and many more in these four albums alone.

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The Black Album is expected to hit shelves in early 2019. As of this writing, no official date has been confirmed.

Weezer’s tour will kick off March 8 in Louisville, Ky. They will conclude on April 12 in Las Vegas. Tickets go on sale to the general public on Oct. 19 at 10 a.m. ET. They’ll hit Canada twice during their run, in Montreal and Vancouver. You can find tickets on the official website.

Weezer 2019 tour dates

March 8 – Louisville, Kent. @ KFC Yum! Center
March 10 – Columbia, South Car. @ Colonial Life Arena
March 13 – Montreal, Quebec @ Bell Centre
March 14 – Albany, New York @ Times Union Center
March 16 – Mashantucket, Conn. @ Foxwoods Resort Casino*
March 17 – Baltimore, Mar. @ Royal Farms Arena
March 19 – Columbus, Ohio @ Schottenstein Center
March 20 – Grand Rapids, Mich. @ Van Andel Arena
March 22 – Memphis, Tenn. @ FedEx Forum
March 24 – St. Louis, Miss. @ Enterprise Center
March 26 – Kansas City, Miss. @ Sprint Center
March 27 – Tulsa, Okla. @ BOK Center
March 28 – Des Moines, Iowa @ Wells Fargo Arena
March 30 – St. Paul, Minn. @ Xcel Energy Center
March 31 – Madison, Wisc. @ Alliant Energy Center
April 5 – Nampa, Ida. @ Ford Idaho Center Arena
April 6 – Portland, Oreg. @ Moda Center
April 7 – Vancouver, B.C. @ Rogers Arena
April 9 – Sacramento, Calif. @ Golden 1 Center
April 10 – Oakland, Calif. @ Oracle Arena*
April 12 – Las Vegas, Nev. @ Mandalay Bay Event Center