In his new album, The Crux, Djo, aka Joe Keery, perfectly inhabits and evokes peak 70s McCartney. At the same time, he seamlessly drifts between the sonics of ELO and Harry Nilsson. There’s even a hint of The Beach Boys wrapped in there too for good measure.
The Stranger Things actor’s latest musical project takes listeners on a nostalgic, yet fresh, melodic journey to yesteryear. There is no doubt Keery has been influenced by the recording habitat of Electric Lady Studios in New York, where the likes of Stevie Wonder, David Bowie and John Lennon all recorded too. And by incorporating the personal and the observational, he manages to create something importantly rooted in the now. Djo guides you into a fascinating world – his world – and kindly lets you stay there for a while – and, damn, it’s a groovy world to visit.
Best known for his song ‘End of Beginning’, which appeared on his second album, DECIDE, Djo now enters a new musical era with The Crux. He moves away from the 80s synth vibes seen in his previous work, although songs like ‘Basic Being Basic’ do hark back to his earlier catalogue. His music now walks and talks the hazy New York city streets of the 1970s with songs like ‘Lonesome Is A State of Mind’ and ‘Link’.
However, his most musically mature and melodious work comes in the second half of the album. The first is ‘Charlie’s Garden’, a tribute to his friend and Stranger Things co-star Charlie Heaton, who features in the song. And then comes ‘Gap Tooth Smile’ and The Beach Boys-tinged ‘Golden Line’, completing the trio of classics.
‘Charlie’s Garden’ seems like Keery at his most creatively ambitious. With influences of Paul McCartney, ELO, and Supertramp (and perhaps even The Lemon Twigs), the whacky baroque rock song is almost perfect in its imaginative and playful guise. Meanwhile, the aggressive and raw guitar of ‘Gap Tooth Smile’ shakes one into yet another dimension – a dimension where a slick and boisterous love song is the soundtrack of your daily life.
The finest and most complete song on the record, however, is the delicate and earnest ‘Golden Line’. The song is full of melancholia and ardent love but offers the listener a harmonic and tearfully joyful all-you-can-listen-to buffet for the ears. It feels like a Brian Wilson and Alex Turner love child sent our way to break our hearts. It gives ‘Golden Trunks’ vibes off of Arctic Monkeys’ divisive 6th album Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino.
Although Keery has evidently been heavily influenced by artists of the past, this doesn’t mean the album lacks authenticity. In taking from those he loves, he has moulded a creation that is truly bespoke to him.
The Crux is an album which signifies Djo’s entrance into the realms of serious musician status. It’s not that his previous work wasn’t any good. Although, at times, it was somewhat lacking. It’s more that he was seen as an actor with a music side project, rather than vice versa. After this album, however, these notions should be completely dispelled. Djo is a serious musician who’s creativity rivals that of many artists in 2025. The Crux is a must listen.
