Weezer’s new single + RSD rarities
Weezer released 'Shine Again,' the lead single from their upcoming 16th studio album, produced by Kenny Beats, signaling a new creative phase for the band. (wrat.com) They also plan a Record Store Day release — a collection of early demos and rarities will hit indie shops on April 18 — so collectors have physical incentives alongside the digital drop. (wrat.com) (themusicnetwork.com)
Weezer just did two very different things at once: it put out a brand-new song called “Shine Again” this week, and it lined up a Record Store Day release built from its first studio sessions from November 1992. The split is the point — one foot in a new album, one foot in the band’s earliest tape boxes. (wrat.com) (recordstoreday.com) “Shine Again” arrived on April 9, 2026 as Weezer’s first new track since 2022, and the band’s official lyric video says the upcoming album is produced by Kenny Beats and Klas Åhlund. The album still has no public title or release date. (wrat.com) (youtube.com) Kenny Beats is best known for records with rappers and pop acts, while Klas Åhlund has credits with artists like Robyn and Ghost. Putting those two names on a Weezer album suggests the band is not simply trying to remake 1994 in a cleaner font. (youtube.com) At the same time, the Record Store Day item goes in the opposite direction. The release is called “1192,” and Record Store Day says it comes from a multi-track analog reel that original bassist Matt Sharp found while working through old master recordings. (recordstoreday.com) (wrat.com) Those recordings matter because November 1992 is before the Blue Album turned Weezer into an MTV band in May 1994. Record Store Day describes “1192” as the band’s very first studio sessions, which makes it less like a greatest-hits package and more like opening a time capsule from before “Buddy Holly” and “Undone – The Sweater Song” were fixtures. (recordstoreday.com) (en.wikipedia.org) The physical details are aimed straight at collectors. Record Store Day lists “1192” as a Record Store Day First LP, set for April 18, 2026, with 3,000 copies through Ernest Jenning Record Co. (recordstoreday.com 1) (recordstoreday.com 2) That “Record Store Day First” label usually means the indie-store version comes first and a wider release can happen later. So the people streaming “Shine Again” this week and the people lining up outside shops on April 18 are being offered two different doors into the same band. (recordstoreday.com) (spotify.com) Weezer is also scaling up its live plans around the same moment. The band’s official tour page lists a 2026 run called “Weezer: The Gathering,” with arena dates beginning September 8 in Sacramento and continuing through North America with The Shins and Silversun Pickups on many stops. (weezer.com) (youtube.com) So the band’s 2026 play is unusually clear: a new single on April 9, a rare-vinyl archival release on April 18, and a large tour in September. Weezer is selling the next chapter and the origin story at the same time, which is a neat trick for a band now rolling toward album number 16. (wrat.com) (recordstoreday.com) (weezer.com)
