Neotheateris the third full-length album of the band AJR, released on April 26th. The brothers Ryan, Jack and Adam Met self-produced the album, that was released by the band’s label, AJR Productions. The 12 songs tell a story about growing, while also touching on heavier subjects. Rolling Stones says, “The music’s effervescence — mixing hip-hop, EDM and strummy pop, adding strings and horns — makes for an album that flies in the face of modern Top 40’s conventional glumness.”
The order of songs is no coincidence: the first tune, “Next Up Forever”, acts as an introduction to the album. The song starts with a “closed harmony choir”, which was the biggest form of choir music back in the 1940s; the band added vocals from a group called The MelloMen, giving the song a different sound than all the other Pop songs we hear on the radio today, something that is very present in all of AJR’s works, the band has very unique sound, and their style is very easily recognizable to all that are familiar with their music. The message of the song also gives the listener an insight on what is about to come: tales about coming of age and all the bad or good experiences that take you there. “Finale (Can’t Wait To See What You Do Next)” closes the album as the 12thtrack; the lyrics “Welcome to the Neotheater” are repeated from the first song, closing the “cycle”.
Similar elements were also present in their previous album, “The Click”, where they sang a lot about growing up with a similar style, but now they sound more mature and seemed to embrace their musical identity. The track “Turning Out” even received a sequel, “Turning Out Pt. ii”, connecting the albums even more.
Other highlights in the album were “Dear Winter”, a song written by Ryan for his future kid, and “100 Bad Days”, a very relatable tune, since it narrates all of the band’s bad experiences, and how they learned from them.
A song that touches on an “heavier” topic is “Birthday Party”, the third single for the album. The lyrics are written from the point of view of a new-born baby, and describe their naïve views for the future and about the world, such as: “Except ignoring pigment in our skin”, “I bet my country’s nice to immigrants”. This is not the first time AJR got political with their songs, “Burn the House Down” became an anthem against gun violence by The March for Our Lives, earlier this year.
In conclusion, Neotheateris much different than what we are used to in music today, from the different sound effects mixed with a catchy pop melody to the alternative, but very relatable, lyrics.
Rating: 4/5
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