Album Review
March 11, 2025
Joe Keery photographed by Courtney Sofiah Yates
All-American actor Joe Keery is a man of many faces, but my favorite goes by Djo. Djo first came onto the music scene in 2019 with a set of singles, "Roddy" and "Chateau (Feel Alright)" that would become and remain his most popular for several years.
By September 2019, Djo released his debut album, Twenty Twenty, a circular story told in twelve psychedelic parts. It’s an album born from the mind of a young man faced with sudden, overwhelming fame and its consequences: loss of anonymity, skewed perspective of self, and no time for reckoning. Beneath that weight lies another, more indomitable one: the weight of being a human, of being young, of not knowing anything at all.
Twenty Twenty’s singles were chosen with intent. "Roddy" is about parting from an old life, albeit painfully, and cautiously stepping into a new one. In his lyrics, Djo recognizes that this new life has created a new self, entirely separate and different: 'Man in the mirror, make another home here.'
I believe the name “Roddy” is in reference to the man in the mirror, and the song is Djo’s reckoning with the fact that life is indeed different, and he must carry on despite that.
It’s likely that 'Djo' is the new self, serving as an alter ego for Keery. After all, before he was Djo, he was a member of Chicago-based rock band Post Animal. Due to his acting commitments with Stranger Things during that time, Keery had to part ways with the group and Djo was born out of his need for creative freedom.
In contrast to the moody introspection in "Roddy", "Chateau (Feel Alright)" is full of romance and yearning; it reflects not on a past self, but on a past time entirely. The song is almost self-soothing: its lyrics take both Djo and the listener back in time to the Chateau where everything felt alright. As he reflects further, Djo is unsure if such a place ever existed at all: 'Was it a dream or is it all in the past?'
"Chateau (Feel Alright)" gives Djo the chance to look into the past through rose-colored glasses. Much of the theme of Twenty Twenty is the juxtaposition between the loveliness (and poison) of nostalgia, as well as the growing pains of change.
I used to think the album title was in reference to a year, despite being typed phonetically and releasing before 2020 – until I learned the phrase, “Hindsight is always 20/20.” It’s easy to understand a situation after it has already happened, to believe you would make all the right decisions, now that you have all the facts – but hindsight is always 20/20.
It’s unfair to hold oneself to the impossible standard of making all the correct choices on the first try. This is a very hard lesson to learn, and a similar theme follows Djo throughout his discography.
In September of 2022, Djo released his second album: DECIDE, a powerhouse record with synthesizers and bass that may or may not send you to the moon. Predicated on singles such as Change and Gloom, this album documents in vivid detail the process of growing up – more than simply becoming an adult, but becoming fully and viciously self-aware.
Embedded in the middle of the magic of the album is "End of Beginning", a bittersweet but resonating piece on the agony and necessity of saying goodbye. Djo glances back in time at his younger self, clueless and innocent in Chicago. This version of himself has no idea how much his life is about to change and how much he will miss what he already has.
“I wave goodbye to the end of beginning…”
The album cover features Djo holding a Magic-8 ball forward, its answer written in bold: decide. Magic-8 balls are designed to predict the future, but this one says you alone are in control – you must decide for yourself.
Djo’s sophomore album took the sonic vastness of Twenty Twenty and multiplied it tenfold: deeper, bigger, bolder, weirder. It is an album about taking control and personal responsibility, and Djo proves that he is more than capable.
Each album seems to represent Djo at different points in his life, in his development as a young adult, and as a person operating in a world as complex as ours. But this can be said for every artist that has ever existed; the difference is that Djo develops a new character for each era, further symbolizing the sheer force change can have on a person.
In January, Djo announced his third album, The Crux, set to release on April 4, along with the accompanying single "Basic Being Basic". And for the first time in three years, Djo is going back on tour: the “Back on You” World Tour will begin on February 6 in Auckland at the Laneway Festival. Opening for Djo this tour is none other than Post Animal themselves.
So who is Djo now, after DECIDE? What wisdom does he have to bestow on us now? What is The Crux of Djo?
Released Jan. 24, "Basic Being Basic" is an inventive song with fuzzy guitar, funky synthesizers and lyrics that directly oppose the vibe of those instrumentals. In contrast to introductory singles like "Roddy" and "Gloom," "Basic Being Basic" portrays this new version of Djo as more confident and settled within himself. The song is about coming to terms with the dissolution of a harmful relationship through a sardonic, witty lens. In an interview with Rolling Stone, Djo said the single is, “kind of a shot fired to anyone who’s trying to be of the moment.” The tone is one of vulnerability with a sarcastic edge, trying to lighten the weight of a brutal truth.
The next single, released Feb. 27, was "Delete Ya," a love ballad straight from the 80s, directly inspired by The Police, according to Djo in an interview with BBC Radio 1.
In the same interview, he explains that the two singles are opposing sides of the same coin – encapsulating, in my opinion, how one can feel in the aftermath of heartbreak: warring between joy for freedom, yearning for what is gone, and regretting the choices that got you there in the first place.
Djo has said that the most important part of The Crux is that it was “made with a lot of love and care,” a musical autobiography of the last two years of his life. He has also said that he treats music as his journal, a therapeutic outlet, so one is to expect honesty, however surprising, and sincerity, however heartbreaking, with this upcoming album.
With that in mind, I look forward to all the sonic and lyrically creative ways Djo will hurt and heal my heart with this album. The Crux will be available everywhere April 4.
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