Here’s something you may not know: Weezer is huge in Japan. The band’s documentary/concert film Weezer: Across The Sea, Live in Japan shows how strong the Weezer fandom is over there, and frontman Rivers Cuomo loves the country back. He cares so much about his Japanese fans, in fact, that in 2013, he teamed up with Scott Murphy of pop-punk band Allister to release a self-titled album as Scott & Rivers that was sung mostly in Japanese. The album debuted at the top spot on the iTunes Japan alternative charts during its first week of release, and now the duo is back for more. They just announced their second album, and it’s called ニマイメ (via Pitchfork), which is Romanized as Nimaime and roughly translates to “Beautiful” (if Google Translate is to be believed).
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https://t.co/g6dGltpAPn pic.twitter.com/7ul44H5KVr— ソニー・ミュージック洋楽 (@INTSonyMusicJP) March 30, 2017
The record comes out on April 12 via Sony Music Japan International, and if you’re looking to get your hands on it in the U.S., good luck, since it’s only set to be released in Japan. Still, you can listen to “FUN IN THE SUN” right now.
As you’d probably expect, there’s a J-pop influence here, and the songs also seem to borrow more from Murphy’s pop-punk past than they do from Cuomo’s alternative rock roots. Still, if you squint hard (or do whatever the equivalent is for your ears), “FUN IN THE SUN” could pass as an alternate universe version of “Island In The Sun.”
Are you excited to get your hands on this album (if you can)? Let us know what you think in the comments, and check out the album cover and track list below.
ニマイメ track list
- “僕らã®æœªæ¥”
- “Doo Wop feat. ã‚ヨサク (MONGOL800)”
- “FUN IN THE SUN (RIP SLYME) [ft. PES]”
- “カリフォルニア サンシャイン”
- “風å¹ã‘ã°”
- “ニューガール”
- “å›ã¯ã‚µã‚¤ã‚¯ãƒãƒ³”
- “スコリãƒã®ãƒ†ãƒ¼ãƒž”
- “本音ãªã‚“ã 。”
- “ãƒãƒŸãƒ³ã‚°ãƒãƒ¼ãƒ‰”
- “変ã‚らã¬æƒ³ã„ with miwa”
- “パンツ脱ã(ボーナス・トラック)”
Images: Sony Music Japan International