Decide＜Blue Vinyl＞

Actors who also make music on the side are often a dubious proposition, begging you to question just how serious, let alone good, they actually are at their second creative outlet. In the case of Joe Keery, the answer is pretty good! Best known as the mullet-styled Steve Harrington on the hit horror series Stranger Things, Keery also moonlights as a pop singer. Working under the stage name Djo (pronounced "Joe"), he crafts a heady blend of retro-inspired prog- and synth-based pop. Its an evocative style he first introduced on 2019s Twenty Twenty and which he further expands on 2022s Decide. Cuts like the opening "Runner," "On and On," and "Change" showcase his knack for infectious, often falsetto-sung melodies that bring to mind a mix of influences, including the contemporary psych-pop of bands like MGMT and Field Music, with even a little bit of Michael Jacksons disco-R&B sparkling under the surface. Theres a conceptual, somewhat character-driven approach to Keerys work as Djo, something that perhaps shouldnt be that surprising given his wry acting chops and knack for comedy. Its a theatrical quality, recalling the new wave paranoia of David Byrne and Thomas Dolby. It takes its most indelible form on "Gloom," a Giorgio Moroder-meets-Devo-style anthem in which Keery endures a dark night of the soul while out at a club. Crooning against a pulsing, laser-toned groove, he sings, "And so I walk out the door/Your insults dont affect me with my favorite coat on/I know my hair looked good in the bathroom at the bar/Turns out I left my wallet at the bathroom bar." Things only get worse and funnier from there. That much of Decide is filled with the same literate and wry humor, not to mention memorable pop hooks, speaks to just how creatively inspired Keery is as Djo. ~ Matt Collar