Review Score:

B+

April 4th / 2025 –

There’s a lot of celebrity music out there. If for whatever reason that’s your sort of thing (first of all, evaluate your priorities), you can probably compile quite a collection of albums and singles from former actors, athletes, and auteurs turned pop stars. But for all the Joe Pesci raps and Marvel cast member butt rock songs, there are some actual gems among the sea of mediocre musicians. In the past few years, Joe Keery (Djo) has emerged as one of them.

I remember back in the day when I could still surprise people by telling them that Djo was Steve Harrington. Djo’s debut album was startlingly good. I didn’t then know that Joe Keery was an ex member of the band Post Animal. But if I did, I would have better understood where the catchy psych rock hooks on Twenty-Twenty came from. His follow up album, DECIDE, had some really solid songs, but didn’t do as much for me as a cohesive album. Keery pivoted away from the guitar work that was so striking on his first record. But I did still find it more interesting than the vast majority of actor albums.

Now, on his third record, it may be time to think of Joe Keery as a musician first and an actor second.

And that’s not just because Stranger Things takes an unreasonably long break between seasons. You’re working with kids. You keep having to write around the fact that they grow a lot between seasons. You don’t have to do this to yourselves.

As the singles rolled out, I enjoyed them enough. I gave the first two little thought. I put them on my playlists and liked them when they came up in the queue. But when “Potion” released, I was struck by what sounded like Revolver era Beatles guitar work. That Beatles inspiration extends to a few other songs on the album. But that inspiration isn’t limited to Revolver era songwriting. “Charlie’s Garden” is the most Abbey Road song I’ve ever heard that isn’t included on the actual album itself. And I don’t just mean that because it has “garden” in the title.

But the Paul McCartney-isms aren’t the only clear pieces of musical inspiration here. I hear Tom Petty, The Strokes, The Cars even HAIM in places. It’s not a bad thing to take inspiration from other artists and eras. I think Djo struggled to make it wholly original on DECIDE. But on this project, it not only feels more cohesive, but more unique to Keery.

Even still, it’s tough to get a handle on what the Djo sound actually is. But for the first time, some of these songs come on and I think to myself, “oh yeah, this sounds like a Djo song”. “Egg” for example, has a fairly unusual song structure. Keery is in no rush to jump to the big finish. He let’s the moment grow and build in good time. Keery’s melodies, especially on his choruses, never overstay their welcome. At the conclusion of songs like “Lonesome Is A State of Mind” and “Potion”, I want to play it from the start just to get that little dopamine hit from the chorus.

The singles didn’t do this album justice. I actually think “Basic Being Basic” and “Delete Ya” are near the bottom of my ranking on The Crux – the last leg of the former notwithstanding. All things considered, The Crux is by no means a phoned in actor album. It stands proudly on its own two legs, wears its influences on its sleeve, and is likely to continue to grow on me with further listens.

Review Score:

B+

Gubb wrote this review. You can’t get mad at Gubb.