Djo Drops Early SOTY Contender, Announces New Album The Crux
His DECIDE follow-up is set to arrive April 4 via AWAL. Listen to "Basic Being Basic" below.
Photo by Neil Krug
The definitive song of late 2023/early 2024 was more than a year old at that point, but Djo’s “End of Beginning” was the track that broke the seal on Joe Keery’s music career. Seemingly overnight, his solo project was no longer a best-kept secret for his die-hard fans (and the listeners who simply thought “Roddy” was awesome but had no clue who the man behind Djo actually was). The track was the sixth-most streamed song in the world in 2024 with more than a billion streams, charting in 41 countries and going Platinum and Gold in nearly 20 territories. Oh, and it shot to #11 on the Hot 100. Not too shabby for that pizza delivery guy who played guitar in Post Animal, huh? Keery and I went long on his breakout success last year.
Of course, it’s been over two years now since the second Djo album, DECIDE, came out. But Keery’s a busy guy, acting in Stranger Things, Fargo and Marmalade since then. But Djo fans clamoring for an “End of Beginning” follow-up can finally rejoice. Keery’s new album, The Crux, which he co-produced with his longtime music partner Adam Thein at Electric Lady Studios in New York City, will arrive April 4 via AWAL, and lead single “Basic Being Basic” is already a red-hot song of the year contender. It’s a two-and-a-half-minute bite of Oberheim OB-X8-fueled, synth-pop splendor. Seriously, Keery’s falsetto pitch shifts are pure technicolor. The song is a “shot fire to anyone who’s trying to be of the moment,” he says. There’s a line about Vera Bradley being in vogue that is so deliciously cheeky. If “Basic Being Basic” says anything about the rest of The Crux, then 2025 will be the Year of Djo once more.
Watch the music video for “Basic Being Basic,” check out The Crux album artwork and tracklist, and catch up on Djo’s upcoming tour with Post Animal below.
