Described are dry cast lightweight veneer blocks and a system and method of installing lightweight veneer blocks. The courses can be assembled without mortar between the courses. As an example, sides of the veneer blocks have areas that recede from an imaginary plane between adjacent veneer blocks to give a deep texturing and a shadow effect between veneer blocks. The installation system and method include a substrate, an air barrier applied to the substrate, a plurality of veneer blocks, and an adhesive applied between the plurality of veneer blocks and the air barrier.