Back in April 2025, Djo released his third album ‘The Crux’, describing it as being written in his ‘chrysalis phase’ while between acting jobs. Perhaps better known to some as Netflix star Joe Keery, his roots in music stretch back far earlier, having been a member of psych-rock band Post Animal since his college days in Chicago, before first releasing music under the alias of Djo after the release of Stranger Things’ third season.
After the belated success of his second album ‘Decide’s single ‘End of Beginning’, which has been number 1 in the world for the last month, it is hardly surprising that ‘The Crux’ has garnered such critical acclaim, even earning a nomination at this month’s Grammy awards.
‘The Crux’ initially took the form of a breakup album, but in conversation with Nylon, Djo revealed that about a year out from release, the project shifted to become more about what is important to him – friends, family, the people who have carried him through various changes and seasons – and became an album that celebrated the love in his life in all of its forms.
The album opens with ‘Lonesome is a State of Mind’, seemingly an acceptance of a breakup and the emptiness that can come with it, while recognising that loneliness is not a failure. This song contains Djo’s self-professed favourite lyric from the album: ‘time, it takes an edge and grinds it clean, turns a scar to a seam’. Although heartbreak and its subsequent solitude feels like such a tangible burden for one to carry, as time passes, it becomes an easier burden to bear – what was once a raw, open wound and then a raised scar is now a smoothed seam that blends in with the rest of the day-to-day.
These themes ripple through ‘Delete Ya’ and ‘Fly’, although perhaps with a more pessimistic and resigned slant on romance. ‘Delete Ya’ mourns the abrupt end of a relationship, particularly the sting of watching someone else move on with apparent ease. Djo confesses that ‘a heart excretes only one of us’, capturing the imbalance of the loss – a familiar song or environment still pulls him back to another time, while her heart has let him go and made room for something new. Even in separation, he describes himself as ‘a boat that’s sinking’, asking the listener ‘guess who’s the sea?’, suggesting that he is still submerged in the memories of love, and feels surrounded by echoes of what they once shared. Meanwhile, ‘Fly’ approaches love with a gentler sense of defeat, acknowledging that while ‘falling back to her could be easy to do,’ it is more sensible for him put himself first and choose growth over comfort, even when it requires putting distance between himself and the woman he loved. This frames the notion of love as an evolving force rather than just longing or a homely comfort, bringing a sense of emotional maturity to the difficult decision to move on.
The third track ‘Potion’ epitomises deep yearning in its purest form. Here, longing isn’t about grand gestures, but rather the quiet comfort of finding ‘someone who’ll leave on the light for me’. Djo yearns for the simple pleasures of intimacy, and craves a safe space held together by mutual care. While those around him seem to prioritise aesthetics and surface-level appeal (which he critiques in ‘Basic Being Basic’), he recognises that authenticity is what truly endures, and thus finds himself ‘counting on love’.
The saccharine softness of ‘Potion’ is revisited later in the album in the sugary warmth of ‘Gap Tooth Smile’, a song which Keery described in an interview with Esquire Australia as a fantasy song that is, at its heart, simply about ‘loving your girlfriend’. The song is overflowing with gratitude and awe, framing the gap-toothed girl at its centre as both a blessing and a rare stroke of luck. Her quirks and open-hearted approach to life are all equally cherished – captured perfectly in the line ‘anything’s cool if it’s done with heart’.
Scattered throughout the album are moments of deep emotional intimacy, where love and understanding blur the boundary between self and other. In ‘Egg’, Djo sings ‘deep in her is a reflection of me, I can feel how you feel right now,’ capturing the closeness that comes from truly knowing another person; the quiet miracle of recognising yourself in someone you love. This lyric in particular speaks to a love where two people are so closely aligned that their perspectives begin to mirror one another; not feeling alone in the way you move through the world brings a warming sense of love through recognition, where empathy is not only intuitive but instinctive, too.
Notably, a quarter of the tracklist shifts its focus to love outside of romance, offering a refreshing and expansive perspective. ‘Charlie’s Garden’ reminisces upon the simplicity of living amongst friends, as Keery did in Atlanta with his co-stars Charlie Heaton and Natalia Dyer during the filming of Stranger Things. This echoes the quiet joys and simple pleasures celebrated in ‘Potion’, but this time through the constant, grounding presence of friendships built on trust and shared time. Djo also includes a heartfelt tribute to the love he has for his parents in ‘Golden Line’, professing that his intention was always to fill them with pride, and that ‘I do it all for you’. Here, he highlights the intensity of unconditional familial love, and how it lays the foundations for how we choose to move through life.
For the first time, Keery invites his sisters – Caroline, Kate and Emma – into the music itself, featuring them on backing vocals for ‘Back on You’. The track encapsulates the steadfast love and encouragement he feels in his role as a brother, both literally with his sisters and affectionately with his close friends. He “counts his lucky stars” to have his sisters beside him for support, describing them as ‘an inspiration’ to be the best version of himself again and again. This song provides the line with which Djo chose to dedicate the album to his friends and family, in every place he has called home: “you can count on me, I’m leaning back on you.”
The eponymous final track ‘Crux’ neatly wraps up themes of self-reflection, healing, and love in its many forms. Almost a letter to himself – or to others navigating the hardships of a breakup – Djo urges the listener to ‘get back to your heart, only if you give it back again.’ Regardless of how bruised your self-worth may be, the album insists on one truth: returning to your authentic self is essential, owing to the fact that it is the only place from which you can continue to love, and be loved, in return.
Image Credits: Nick M via Flickr