Born and raised in the city of New York, musical trio AJR has been putting on shows and releasing music for over 14 years. The three brothers, Adam (27), Jack (21), and Ryan Met (25) began street performing as kids and soon started recording and releasing their own original songs and albums. They got their first taste of popularity with their single “I’m Ready” in 2013. AJR rose once again in 2017 with their second album, “The Click,” which contains singles such as “Weak” and “Sober Up.” After two years of touring and building up their steadily growing fanbase, they came back with Neotheater, in April of this year. Although it’s been two months since its release, the excitement over this album has yet to die down. Neotheater consists of 12 songs, each with its own sound and story.
Next Up Forever: This song serves as the opening theme for the album, with a chorus starting and ending the song. It fits into the theatrical sound and aesthetic the band was shooting for, while also incorporating the underlying themes and messages of the album. The song includes the lyric “welcome to the Neotheater,” sung by Jack, introducing the listener to the musically created fictional setting of the album.
Birthday Party: Told from the point of view of a naive newborn baby, this song alludes to the political and social issues of our country, and how his life will be easy since he is only one minute old and does not know about the negative aspects of the outside world. “I bet my country’s nice to immigrants...I bet I’ll see a female president.”
100 Bad Days: Released as the first single from Neotheater, this upbeat and exciting song touches on the subject of bad days, and how good can come out of them. Based on true events faced by the band, some of the best stories told come out of awkward or embarrassing moments. "100 Bad Days" has gained a fair amount of popularity since its release, being nominated for awards and being played on various radio stations across the country.
Don’t Throw Out My Legos: As said in an interview with AJR, the concept of this song arose after Jack and Ryan moved out of their parents’ house. They’re anxious about entering adulthood and leaving their comforting childhood behind. The message is about how they’re only moving out, not wanting to move on. This song is quite upbeat, contrasting the seemingly sad theme.
Break My Face: This song has a similar message to "100 Bad days", stating that it’s okay to have bad moments, and you can even be thankful for them in a way. It is full of famous sayings, changed up a bit to fit the theme. Ex: “Life gives you lemons, at least it gave you something.” This song also includes a lyric from "Birthday Party," and is overall quite upbeat and exciting, like "100 Bad Days."
Turning Out Pt.ii: Considered the most emotional song on this album, Ryan sings about his experience of heartbreak, continuing the song "Turning Out," from their previous album. This song has a simple piano and synth background, focusing mainly on the vocals.
The Entertainment’s Here: Serving as a distraction and complete contrast from the previous song, this upbeat and fun song touches on the topic of boredom. The song is very heavy on drums and trumpets, adding to the exciting sound. It also alludes to the world of Neotheater, with the lyric “Everything is suddenly amazing here.” the song is not only a distraction from the sadness of the previous song, but it constantly mentions how the “entertainment” distracts from the sad, lonely times.
Karma: This was the first song written for the album, focusing on the racing thoughts of the singer. The setting is at a therapist office, where Jack explains how life is unfair, since he’s done everything, but doesn’t seem to get much in return. The song focuses mainly on vocals, while still having a good beat. The ending is a 35-second long monologue where Jack seems to say everything in one breath, a metaphor for letting all of your thoughts out.
Beats: This song is a call out to brands and sponsored artists while having a fun and dancy beat. It was the hardest and final track to be written for Neotheater and features their close friend and singer Samia. Beats is about the headphone brand, Beats by Dre, and how sponsored artists seem to lose sight of their goals and are blindsided by money and earnings.
Wow, I’m Not Crazy: This fun, upbeat song is about finding people who relate to you, despite your quirks and differences. It has an uplifting guitar in the background ultimately leading to an exciting beat drop towards the end of the song.
Dear Winter: The last single to be released for the song is probably one of my favorites. It’s more towards the emotional side and has a slow, soft acoustic sound.
Finale (Can’t Wait To See What You Do Next): The closing song for this album really reminded me why I listen to this band in the first place. All of the different components of it are so unique and tell a story that you’d never think you’d hear in music. It is a perfect tie up to the project that AJR has been working on, and you can definitely see all of the work put into this.
Listen to Neotheater
Written by Nat!
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