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.

Djo Drops Early SOTY Contender, Announces New Album The Crux

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.

The Crux Artwork:

The Crux Tracklist:
Lonesome Is A State of Mind
Basic Being Basic
Link
Potion
Delete Ya
Egg
Fly
Charlie’s Garden
Gap Tooth Smile
Golden Line
Back On You
Crux

Djo’s Upcoming Tour Dates:
February 06 – Auckland, New Zealand @ Laneway Festival
February 08 – Brisbane, Australia @ Laneway Festival
February 09 – Sydney, Australia @ Laneway Festival
February 12 – Sydney, Australia @ Enmore Theatre
February 14 – Melbourne, Australia @ Laneway Festival
February 15 – Adelaide, Australia @ Laneway Festival
February 16 – Perth, Australia @ Laneway Festival
April 04 – Portland, OR @ Revolution Hall
April 05 – Portland, OR @ Revolution Hall
April 07 – Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom
April 08 – Seattle, WA @ Paramount Theatre
April 10 – Oakland, CA @ Fox Theater
April 11 – Indio, CA @ Coachella
April 18 – Indio, CA @ Coachella
April 19 – Phoenix, AZ @ The Van Buren
April 21 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Rockwell at the Complex
April 23 – Denver, CO @ The Mission Ballroom
April 25 – Madison, WI @ The Sylvee
April 26 – Saint Paul, MN @ Palace Theatre
April 28 – Detroit, MI @ Royal Oak Music Theatre
April 29 – Toronto, ON @ History
May 01 – Washington, DC @ The Anthem
May 02 – Boston, MA @ Roadrunner
May 03 – Philadelphia, PA @ Franklin Music Hall
May 05 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel
May 06 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel
June 01 – Dublin, Ireland @ 3Olympia
June 02 – Glasgow, UK @ O2 Academy
June 03 – Manchester, UK @ Academy
June 06 – London, UK @ O2 Forum Kentish Town
June 10 – Copenhagen, Denmark @ Poolen
June 11 – Oslo, Norway @ Sentrum Scene
June 13 – Stockholm, Sweden @ Annexet
June 15 – Hilvarenbeek, Netherlands @ Best Kept Secret Festival
June 16 – Cologne, Germany @ E-Werk
June 17 – Berlin, Germany @ Huxleys
June 18 – Warsaw, Poland @ Progresja
June 20 – Scheebel, Germany @ Hurricane Festival
June 21 – Tuttlingen, Germany @ Southside Festival
June 23 – Paris, France @ ELYSEE MONTMARTRE
June 24 – Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Paradiso

*All North American, UK and EU tour dates w/ Post Animal

Djo will be the musical guest on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon on January 28.

 
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