Netflix heart-throb turned indie superstar Joe Keery, also known as Djo, released his highly anticipated third album “The Crux” last Friday.
Keery set the standard high for “The Crux” with the release of three singles ahead of this album, “Delete Ya,” “Basic Being Basic” and “Potion.”
My favorite is “Delete Ya.” It’s a song I’ve had on repeat since hearing its groovy melody and catchy chorus. The song sees Keery reminiscing on a past relationship, wishing he could delete all knowledge of this person from his life rather than live without them.
“I wish I could release ya / Wind it back and never be with ya / Then I’d be happy just to meet ya,” Keery sings.
Keery has been releasing music since 2019 when he dropped his debut album “Twenty Twenty.” The album gained some traction when listeners realized they already knew Djo as Steve Harrington on Netflix’s “Stranger Things.”
With his 2022 album “DECIDE” and its popular track “End of Beginning,” Keery made a name for himself as a musician. The song has a synthy backing track and hopeful, nostalgic lyrics that had it on everyone’s playlist. My familiarity with this track alone made me excited for “The Crux.”
Personally though, I think some of the best songs on this new album were its pre-released singles. Keery set a high standard for himself with the singles and with the previous hit that I’m not sure the rest of the album lived up to.
There are some songs on this album that are just a little too anticlimactic, with long, slow expositions that open up into a more energetic chorus. This is the case in the album’s opening track “Lonesome Is A State Of Mind.” I like where the song ends up, but I feel compelled to skip it before we get there.
Something similar happens in “Egg,” “Back On You” and “Fly.” However, there are some killer songs strewn throughout that earn it some redeeming stars. In addition to the three singles Keery pre released, “Link,” “Charlie’s Garden” and “Gap Tooth Smile” are equally as upbeat and fun.
The track “Link” features Keery speaking to himself in the chorus about how he is scared of falling into monotony, using links in a chain as a metaphor for freeing oneself of societal expectations.
“A link is breaking outta the chain / I got a feeling that a break is gonna happen maybe right now, right now,” sings Keery.
“Charlie’s Garden” is a catchy track that includes a staged voicemail from “Stranger Things” co-star Charlie Heaton. A video was posted on Djo’s TikTok of Heaton recording his part of the song with Keery in the studio.
The ninth track “Gap Tooth Smile” is a funky romantic number where Keery sings about how lucky he is to have his lover and experience her gap tooth smile.
“Frame up on my baby she’s my superstar / Big heart, all smile / Come on pretty baby let’s last a while / Last a while with me,” Keery sings.
Though there is a strange part in the bridge where Keery is simply counting to 29, its intrigue and rhythm is growing on me.
The album closes with its title track “The Crux,” a piano-focused number about learning not to overthink things.
“Steady hand not control / Let it be what it is,” Keery sings in the chorus.
Keery’s musical endeavors have a psychedelic indie rock sound that is definitely apparent on this album.
His music has always had a sound that attracted me. Despite this album having some filler songs, I think Keery stays true to his roots. He has a unique sound that comes through on this album, even in my lowest ranked tracks.
3/5 stars
jhammer@ramapo.edu
Featured photo courtesy of @djotime, Instagram
