Djo’s third album is finally here. With enormous success from his last album (while everyone was later to it than I was), hopes were high for this album among the community of kids in college with mullets who wear ringer tees. It’s safe to say it did not disappoint.Â
I got to see Djo perform for the first time on April 8th and am still reeling from the show I’ve been waiting to see since I was 15, but that’s another album entirely. Following his debut album “Twenty-Twenty,” and his sophomore album “Decide,” I was interested to see what “The Crux” had in store.
Djo’s specialty from the start seemed to be psychedelic indie. With songs off Twenty-Twenty like Chateau (Feel Alright), and BNBG, this album conjured up summer nostalgia and the feeling of being in a smoke-filled backstage of a concert. Decide’s 2022 release came at the perfect time in my life. I was feeling like there was nothing for me to do while my friends were at university and I was at community college. I’d just moved and all my things were stuck in boxes since I didn’t have a bedroom yet. I remember when it came out at midnight I was so excited just to listen to it, only to find out he seemed to know exactly how I was feeling. There’s a special connection between 19 year old girls and men making music about their 20s, I’m not sure how, but sometimes they just get it.
If you aren’t familiar with Djo, the reality is, you probably are. Unfortunately for someone as pretentious about music as myself, TikTok grabbed a hold of End of Beginning and skyrocketed his listeners. While this song is beautiful and will always have a place in my heart, I beg of you, if you like that song at all, to listen to Change and Runner at the very least. The pop aspect he brings into this album is something you can’t help but get up and dance to.
So on to The Crux. My hopes were high when I heard the first two releases. Basic Being Basic and Delete Ya seemed to follow a similar path to the pop songs off of Decide. Just before the album was released, he let us in on one more. I remember hearing interviews of Joe saying that he had a song that was so clearly inspired by Fleetwood Mac we’d know it the second we heard it. And he couldn’t have been more right. With the opening note of Potion, I knew this was the one he was talking about. With acoustic guitar that could have come from Lindsey Buckingham, Potion is the perfect summertime lullaby that, yes, you guessed it, can still be danced to with ease. Fly is in the same vein. Although this one seems a bit under-appreciated, but then again, that’s what I said about End of Beginning many moons ago.
But my absolute favorite track off this album is Gap Tooth Smile. A love song that builds to a shout of him chanting numbers 1-29 is just the type of song to get you through a walk through the quad during cherry blossom season. Plus a nod to girls with gaps in their teeth is always appreciated by yours truly.Â
With songs both full of joy, heartache, love for sisters, synth, drums, and acoustic guitar, topped with Joe Keery’s voice, there is not a single complaint I have about this album. And yes, I may be a bit biased, having been a fan from years and years ago, but I also consider myself a bit of a music expert, and therefore must know what I’m talking about at least a little.Â
If you’re looking for your next listen, something to make you feel nostalgic and happy at the same time, or are just wondering what some good new music is, look no further than Djo’s The Crux.