Photo of Joe Keery by CJ Harvey
Joe Keery, of Stranger Things (Steve “The Hair” Harrington) fame, has released a new album, under the moniker Djo. Recorded at the history-ridden, New York-based Electric Lady studios, this album rises and falls with synthesizers, electric guitars, layered vocals, and techno-infused drums. Co-produced and co-written by Keery (who also played the majority of the album’s instruments), The Crux is a sprawling project exploring the various lives of the guests of the Crux Hotel. For those of us at crossroads in life, this record explores the path which Keery traveled at a recent inflection point in his own journey.
Most famous musically for the viral hit “End of Beginning,” which has about 1.5 billion streams on Spotify, Keery, in his newest work, experiments with lush acoustic instrumentation accentuated by catchy, extremely referential lyrics. The Crux has a lack of space between Keery and his music, which enables the audience to hear more about Keery’s personal life and embrace his lively, eccentric persona.
Influenced by an endless number of pop/rock legends from the last 60 years, Keery has clearly done his homework. Having absorbed and regurgitated the echoes of The Roots, Jimi Hendrix, David Bowie, and Patti Smith, Keery’s decision to record the album at Electric Lady has paid dividends. In tribute to musical greats such as Jimmy Page, Paul McCartney, and Julian Casablancas (one of these is not like the others), Keery demonstrates throughout the album his ability to play multiple instruments and replicate timeless formulas.
Djo’s third album is his most adventurous one yet. Although he should not be criticized for choosing a new sonic direction, he should be criticized for being too shallow. Each song on this album functions as an experiment, as a sound that Keery is testing out. There are multiple influences at play here too, such as The 1975 and The Strokes. Fundamentally, Keery’s unimaginative glance into the lives of guests at The Crux hotel is ultimately disappointing. Although it does have some positive features, the album leaves much to be desired.
One of the more notable influences on The Crux is The Strokes’ most recent album, 2020’s The New Abnormal. Mr. Keery utilizes “Ode to the Mets”’s teeming techno sound to introduce the audience to his album with “Lonesome is A State of Mind.” The Strokes’ techno experiment works well for Casablancas and co. because they have the full talent of a well-oiled four-piece band behind Casablancas’s quality songwriting. Djo approaches this idea from another angle, since he is known for bedroom pop synthesizers. Yes, he can implement synthesizers well, but he cannot merge it with a garage rock sound like The Strokes can. “Lonesome is A State of Mind” is too mundane to be meaningful—while Keery may think his lyrics are truthful and poignant, they come across as platitudinal: “No, you’re not lonely, when you’re hanging with yourself.”
There are some exciting moments on the album, especially when he pays homage to rock legends like Paul McCartney and Jimmy Page. Keery can properly play guitar too (“Potion” is a great example of this) and his voice is dynamic. The listener does not hear enough of the guitar since it does not feature often, nor do they hear much of Keery’s voice, due to the amount of production on it. While it is admirable that Keery is playing multiple instruments and co-producing this project, he leaves new ideas both too fragmented and undeveloped.
Sometimes, Keery’s songwriting falls short. While “Basic Being Basic” is undeniably catchy, or while “Link” is an unapologetic but appealing Jimmy Eat World homage, the lyrics on both are mostly disappointing. Listen to “Basic Being Basic,” which is a critique on basic people. Keery’s idea is that basic people are made more basic when they try to be less basic. For example: “I think you’re scared of being / Basic / That’s ironic ‘cause it’s reading like you’re even more / Basic.” While he may have a point, it is an ultimately inconsequential and overstated one.
By no means is The Crux lacking in creativity. The issue is that there are too many ideas, which aren’t given enough room to breathe. Hopefully moving forward, Keery and his band (co-producer/co-writer Adam Thien and Wesley Toledo, drummer from Keery’s former band Post Animal, whom Keery recently reunited with and is currently touring with—see tour dates below) will be able to grow the pastiche of ideas he plays with, rather than discarding them after a single song. One example is with “Link,” which features a Jimmy Eat World-flavored guitar riff, and a subject matter rather similar to that of “The Middle.” The result is a distinctive song, which must be great live. Sadly, “Link” is a one-off, an idea that Keery does not return to.
Keery is not lacking in talent or ideas. Perhaps putting him in the room with a producer who can get him to hone down a vision for his music would create better, or at least more consistent, results (though I am sure this would and has happened for most artists). Djo once described The Crux as both a concept album and a place, “a hotel housing guests who are all, in one way or another, at crossroads in their life.” This idea, while creative, is rather vain and pretentious. While Keery’s ideas are admirable and his talent undeniable, he seems to need more time and guidance to truly reach the next level. | Joe Hindle
Djo’s “Back On You” World Tour 2025 w/ Post Animal
04.21 – Salt Lake City, UT – Rockwell at the Complex
04.23 – Denver, CO – The Mission Ballroom
04.25 – Madison, WI – The Sylvee
04.26 – Saint Paul, MN – Palace Theatre
04.28 – Detroit, MI – Royal Oak Music Theatre
04.29 – Toronto, ON – History
05.01 – Washington, DC – The Anthem
05.02 – Boston, MA – Roadrunner
05.03 – Philadelphia, PA – Franklin Music Hall
05.05 – Brooklyn, NY – Brooklyn Steel
05.06 – Brooklyn, NY – Brooklyn Steel
06.01 – Dublin, Ireland – 3Olympia
06.02 – Glasgow, UK – O2 Academy
06.03 – Manchester, UK – Academy
06.06 – London, UK – O2 Forum Kentish Town
06.10 – Copenhagen, Denmark – Poolen
06.11 – Oslo, Norway – Sentrum Scene
06.13 – Stockholm, Sweden – Annexet
06.15 – Hilvarenbeek, Netherlands – Best Kept Secret Festival
06.16 – Cologne, Germany – E-Werk
06.17 – Berlin, Germany – Huxleys
06.18 – Warsaw, Poland – Progresja
06.20 – Scheebel, Germany – Hurricane Festival
06.21 – Tuttlingen, Germany – Southside Festival
06.23 – Paris, France – ELYSEE MONTMARTRE
06.24 – Amsterdam, Netherlands – Paradiso
