The Crux (Deluxe)＜限定盤＞

Musician and actor Joe Keery stakes his claim on the pop world with his third album as Djo, 2025s swoon-worthy The Crux. The album, which follows 2020s Twenty Twenty and 2022s Decide, once again finds Keery indulging his pop passions while offering a fresh creative window on his persona as the loveable former high school jock-turned-righteous cool dude Steve Harrington on Stranger Things merely hints at. Just as Keerys trademark mullet and devilish smile as Steve conjure a kind of 80 throwback charisma, his music as Djo has an equally evocative quality. These are synthy, vintage 70s- and 80s-inspired pop anthems that vibrate with vinyl-era stardust. In fact, Keery often so expertly captures the aesthetic vibe of the sound hes going for that his songs might fall into pastiche if they werent so dang catchy and compelling. These are the kind of immediately infectious and mood-capturing anthems that stick with you, begging for multiple listens. In the past, Keery drew upon the wry synth pop of artists like Kraftwerk and Thomas Dolby. And, certainly here, the tongue-in-cheek nerdiness of a song like "Basic Being Basic" sounds like a spiritual successor to the absurdist electro-satires that marked 2022s Decide. However, the album quickly reveals a more organic and emotionally textured brand of album-oriented pop/rock. With its driving bass riff and throaty chorus, "The Link" believably conjures the nervy power pop spirit of Dwight Twilley, while "Delete Ya" perfectly embodies the sugary, synth-sprinkled sound of the Cars. Keery has more on his mind than crafting stylish odes to his heroes, though, and there are real bittersweet emotions at the core of his songs that are as pure as pop can get. Its a wistful romanticism that reaches a crescendo on "Potion." Here Keery frames his swooning falsetto with magical prog-folk guitar arpeggio as he coos for a lasting, mindful love, singing, "Ill try for all of my life/Just to find someone who leaves on the light for me." That the song also brings to mind an impossible collaboration between Badfinger and Queens Brian May, while also sounding singularly like Keery, only underscores the deeply artful and emotionally engaging quality of his work. With The Crux, Keery doesnt just prove he more than owns his space in the pop world as Djo, hes found a home. ~ Matt Collar

Netflixのドラマ『Stranger Things』のスティーブ役としても知られる俳優、Joe Keeryによる3rdアルバム。前作の明るいエレクトロな要素は少なくなり、70's～80'sのポップスの影響を感じるギターやピアノ、コーラスにフォーカスを当てたサウンドに。この変化の裏にはアーティストとして成功する夢を叶えたい気持ちがあったのではと感じました。アコースティックギターが映える《Potion》、オルタナティブな《Gap Tooth Smile》など多彩な楽曲を披露しています。彼の音楽家としての才能がさらに開花し、キャッチーなポップ作品です。
intoxicate (C)石田真生