Joe Keery, also known as Djo released his third album “The Crux” on April 4, 2025. Although more popular known for his famous role as Steve in the TV series “Stranger Things”, Keery brings his talent to the musical world. You may have even heard one of his songs before, “End of Beginning” was trending on TikTok and other social media platforms, as people used in videos and posts.
“The Crux” takes on a different look from previous albums that Djo has released, integrating multiple music styles into songs. Keery’s past albums have been focused on electronic pop styles, but his newest album includes a New Wave sound, which features synthesized music that combines punk and electronic music. “The Crux” also presents songs that use classical rock influences, similar to the style that “The Beatles” used and finally another notable music influence in the album is the classic acoustic guitar and song. Djo’s album has many musical facades and gives listeners a wide range of talent to listen to.
The song “Delete Ya” uses that New Wave sound and tells a story of having someone that can’t compete with anyone else. Singing about trying to delete someone from his life, Djo explores how people are embedded into society through the media and that there is always a search for something great that has been in your life before. When listening to this song originally it reminded me of Mac Demarco, another artist who focuses on similar themes and sounds as this song.
A popular song within “The Crux” is “Charlie’s Garden,” which features a spoken segment from Keery’s costar in “Stranger Things,” Charlie Heaton. Fans were excited to see the friendship and connection that Keery had with Heaton, to create a song that was inspired by him. The song itself reminds me of a new age Beatles song; it has that upbeat and whimsical rock sound to it. It explores themes of escape and finding positivity in places where you escape to, it’s a message to those who need a break when they get caught up in the rush of the world.
The fourth song in the album was one of my favorites, “Potion” features a hopeful melody and utilizes a little bit of everything when it comes to musical themes, guitar and synthesizer style music can be heard throughout. “Potion” is a song that explores the theme of love, wanting to find love that will stand through time and trial. It’s a sweet song about finding a connection that fills all the cracks in life, a love that helps with all the little things, like “Leaves on the light for me” Djo sings.
Joe Keery’s third album can be written down as a success, although it may not blow up to be as popular as other notable pop artists, it carries a charm that will reach the right audience. “The Crux” is an album written from the heart about Djo’s experiences, his musical mixing and variety gives the audience a full scope of his talent within the musical world. Djo provides a special treat with his meaningful lyrics that any listener can appreciate. Wish I could “Delete Ya” from my head, so that I could listen to “The Crux” for the first time again.
