Djo, known in the acting world as Joe Keery, has always kept his public persona largely separate from his music career, up until his latest project. Djo’s third album, “The Crux,” shatters the barrier between the two, bringing fans some of his most personal music to date.
Djo’s first two albums were almost a well-kept secret among fans until late 2024 when his two-year-old song “End of Beginning” blew up online. However, on his latest project, Keery is finally willing to put himself in the spotlight and into his music.
The songs on “The Crux” are rich with personality, not shying away from Keery’s insecurities, day-to-day habits and famous friends. At the same time, he retains the essence of what made “Decide” (2022) and “Twenty Twenty” (2019) feel special. “The Crux” still retains that passion project energy from his previous efforts while also taking a deeper dive into what makes him tick.
And it’s not just the way Keery writes that changes with this new outlook, the instrumentation follows suit. While the synthpop elements that dominate his earlier work still linger on the album, they are mixed in with songs that are clear homages to the sounds of the ‘60s and ‘70s. Lush vocal harmonies, jangly acoustic guitars and mellotron pads make their presence known, particularly in the back half of the record.
The singer has said he was inspired by artists like The Beatles and Electric Light Orchestra for many of the album’s songs, clearly evident in tracks like “Golden Line,” “Fly” and “Charlie’s Garden,” all of which take on a more ballady feel than some of Djo’s more well-known songs. As a whole, the album takes on a melancholy and introspective mood rather than the dancey, electronic tone he has come to be associated with.
“I swear I’ve had this dinner before / I know I’ve heard that song,” Keery sings in the opening track “Lonesome is a State of Mind.” “My future’s not what I thought / I think I thought it wrong.” Originally conceptualized by Keery as a breakup album, the laid-back and organic sound of the album complements a transitional time in his life.
The album was made while Keery was filming the final season of “Stranger Things,” a show that has dominated his working life for the past decade, and had recently split from his partner. Both of these elements are addressed in the lyrics of the album, particularly in the aforementioned “Charlie’s Garden,” a playful ode to “Stranger Things” co-star Charlie Heaton.
Djo additionally released three singles ahead of the album’s release, “Basic Being Basic,” “Delete Ya” and “Potion.” The first is understandably the closest to the sound of his earlier work — an upbeat, synth-laden song about people who try too hard to be current or trendy and a solid choice to rope in listeners who know him from his online virality. The second single could pass as a Bleachers song, featuring a staccato bass line and chorused electric guitar riffs borrowed from the ‘80s classics playbook.
The third single, “Potion,” is the outlier of the three and an indicator of the album’s change in sound. Starting with a light acoustic guitar and aloof falsetto melody, later incorporating a mellotron string section and George Harrison-esque slide guitar, the song is a complete turnaround from what fans are used to from Djo.
Other album highlights include “Egg,” featuring a bouncy keyboard playing over a melody that grows gradually more passionate as the song continues, and “Back on You,” a hopeful song about the people who get him through tough times on top of a Steely Dan-like instrumental.
“Something special’s happening / You stop to think it’s all but over,” sings Keery on the closing title track, “Crux.” It’s clear that this record is an evolution from his output thus far, one that Keery almost certainly plans to expand on in the future.
While the album is overall a bit of a stylistic turnaround from what long-time fans are used to hearing from Djo, many will be pleasantly surprised at the range of textures and emotions Keery is capable of incorporating into his music. And although the album is softer than he’s known for up to this point, several tracks still provide that upbeat fix alongside the mellower songs.
Earnest lyrics, classic instrumentation and a noticeable level of passion put into his work make the album a heartfelt and fun celebration of Keery’s journey as a musician and what promises to be an equally experimental discography ahead of him.
“The Crux” is available for streaming on Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube.
