Bingkai Karya – Djo, the musical project of actor, producer, and songwriter Joe Keery known for his work in blockbuster projects such as ‘Stranger Things’ and ‘Fargo’, has released his highly anticipated new album, ‘The Crux’, today via AWAL Recordings. Fans can listen to the new album.
Ahead of the album’s full release, Djo had shared one final preview of the record with “Potion”, the album’s focus track. Showcasing a different side of the album compared to its earlier singles “Basic Being Basic” and “Delete Ya”, “Potion” transports listeners to the sun-soaked warmth of Laurel Canyon.
“”Potion” is like your favorite pair of blue jeans,” says Keery. “I’d been working on Travis picking when I wrote this song, so it’s kind of like if Harry Nilsson and Lindsey Buckingham had a baby.”
Djo had performed the majority of the songs on ‘The Crux’ himself and “Potion” is no exception. On this acoustic and falsetto-led track, Djo takes center stage, with Keery playing vocals, acoustic and electric guitar, bass, drums, percussion, and Mellotron. The track blends lighthearted rhythms with a rich, emotive sound, inviting listeners to get lost in the warmth of the music and the yearning it evokes.
Co-produced by Keery and his long-time collaborator, Adam Thein, ‘The Crux’ spotlights lush guitars and instrumentation reminiscent of late 60’s and 70’s pop— a departure from his previous albums, which were bedroom recordings centered around synths. It’s an album full of loss and yearning, but also one full of wit and gratitude.
Djo had a massive 2024 with his hit song “End of Beginning” taking off worldwide, where after climbing to #1 on the Global Spotify chart it was the #6 most streamed song in the world in 2024 — with 1.5 BILLION streams and over 60 BILLION TikTok views. The song had landed on official single charts in 41 countries, while racking up multiple Platinum and Gold records in 17 territories. In Asia, “End of Beginning” has reached #1 on the official single chart and Spotify chart in Indonesia, topped the Spotify Viral and Shazam charts in Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia, and Singapore, and was #9 on the Top 10 TikTok songs of 2024 in Indonesia. With over 2 BILLION career streams and over 9.5 MILLION monthly listeners from Asia, Djo has established himself as a force to be reckoned with in the region, with #2 Indonesia, #5 Malaysia, and #6 Philippines in his top global streaming markets.
His world tour kicked off with a fully sold-out North American run and includes his festival debuts at both Coachella and Glastonbury, as well as a return to Chicago for Lollapalooza, and more. A culmination of Djo’s artistic growth, ‘The Crux’ offers a blend of heartfelt, intimate moments and groovy, expansive tracks, echoing the full journey of Djo’s musical exploration.
‘The Crux’ Tracklisting:
- 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
More About Djo & ‘The Crux’ (2025)
Though most widely known for his acting roles, Keery has long been an interdisciplinary powerhouse, having began making music as a teenager. He later joined the psych-rock band Post Animal while in Chicago. In 2019, he released his first album, ‘Twenty Twenty’ under the moniker Djo. In 2022, his remarkable sophomore album ‘DECIDE’ was released via AWAL to critical acclaim.
‘The Crux’ was written all over the world in a particularly fertile period for Keery, where he was grappling with the transience of his other job, being untethered and away from his friends and family. What begins as a meditation on the dissolution of a relationship winds its way back to self-resilience and a celebration and recognition of the importance of nurturing community.These themes are reflected in both his lyrics and in the collaborative spirit of the music, with contributions from his family and lifelong friends lending the album a warm energy mirroring the bonds at the record’s core. The album not only showcases his ambitious scope, but also his skills as a deft multi-instrumentalist and songwriter, with all songs written by Keery or in collaboration with Adam Thein.
Although the songs are rich with specificity, the album plays like a movie soundtrack, where the listener can easily align with a character, situation, or emotion. And this is, in part, how Keery frames the album’s concept through its art — a collaboration with Neil Krug — as a hotel where all of its guests are transient, and at a spiritual or emotional crossroads.
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