REVIEW: Djo's much-anticipated third album, "The Crux," has landed
- Emma Egan + Emily Marshman
- 3 days ago
- 4 min read
The wig is off – and Joe Keery has presented us with what is undoubtedly his most vulnerable record yet. In twelve songs, he grapples with his artistry, how he presents himself to the world, how he interacts with it, and the ways in which he fights to not be changed by it. It also presents an opportunity for listeners to examine their own relationships with the world’s many influences.
In an interview with Rolling Stone from early 2024, Keery told them that it had been “so long” since he “used the acoustic guitar as my base. It’ll show itself in the music. It’s not a big acoustic album, but it starts with those building blocks.” Opening track “Lonesome is a State of Mind” gives us our first taste of those building blocks. It rises up and blooms out of something slower, presenting the record with a guiding hand of sorts. After the first chorus, a new rhythm to the song is introduced, suggesting that as the song changes, its author might be changing, too.
“Basic Being Basic” was the first song from Djo since 2022’s DECIDE and the later virality of “End of Beginning,” and I can imagine there was quite a bit of pressure when the band was trying to decide what the first glimpse into this new era would be. I think this was a great place to start – a song similar enough to older music that also provides a bridge to a new Djo.
One of my favorite tracks on the album is “Link,” a fast-paced ripper about breaking out on your own with a kick drum heartbeat and a reintroduction to what Adam Thein and Joe Keery can do with a synthesizer and a prayer. If this song felt like “Twenty Twenty”-era Djo, that wasn’t a case of mistaken recognition: “I come from a band [Post Animal] that’s really prog-y, and a lot of the music I like is like that too.”
On "Potion," we get something from Keery that we've never heard before - finger-picking and a strings section. His previous albums have all been high-production, run through a synthesizer, and it worked for him then, but this is working for him now, too. "Potion" strips itself back, and reminds us, in case we had forgotten, that this record is about love, and falling in and out of it.
Releasing “Potion” mere days before the album’s official on-sale date was genius – it’s a song unlike anything we’ve heard from him before, even ballad “End of Beginning,” and it does an incredible job of showcasing all of his skills and talents as a musician, and especially as a songwriter.
"Delete Ya," released in late February, was the second taste and did the work to bridge the gap between what listeners might think the new record would sound like, and what we were meant to anticipate.
Halfway through the album is "Egg," an ode to Keery’s insecurities. The worries that he sings about on this album are the ones everyone shares, but that we all think are unique to our own lived experience: "Can one be great? Can one be kind? When history shows / they're not intertwined?" You know, the kinds of things that keep us all up at night. On this track, he explores one of the greater themes of this record – perception versus perspective – navigating the ways in which his own perception of himself differs from the ways the world sees him.
Penultimate track “Back On You” features Joe Keery’s sisters on backing vocals, and is the most reminiscent of Post Animal’s older sound of all the songs on the album. Keery began his musical journey as a teen after stealing his sister’s guitar, so it’s sweet that they get their own song.
The entirety of “The Crux” is a journey - through musical styles, through states of mind, and through the many changes we are bound to experience as we age and grow.
To the excitement of fans - both new arrivals and those who've been along for the ride for years - Joe announced earlier this year that he would be touring for the first time in ages, and that he would be bringing former bandmates Post Animal out with him. The BACK ON YOU WORLD TOUR began in Australia earlier this year, and the US leg kicked off in the Pacific Northwest on the album’s release date.
“The Crux” is out now and available on all streaming platforms, as well as on vinyl and CD. When you’re out at the bars this weekend, play it on the TouchTunes. Everyone will love and thank you and no one will be mad at you for queueing the whole thing! Go ahead, do it!
Earlier this week, Post Animal also announced the release of their next album, Iron, with Joe Keery returning to the band to write and record alongside his former bandmates.
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