ALBUM REVIEW: DECIDE

Djo - DECIDE

I had no idea that Djo and Joe Keery were the same person. That’s right — the former Post Animal member and current Stranger Things star also makes music — and it’s pretty darn good. My first exposure to Djo was his song “Roddy,” off the album Twenty Twenty. As fate would have it, Djo and I found each other while I was scrolling through Spotify. I dug deeper and fell in love with his track “Personal Lies” off that same album, as well as his 2020 single “Keep Your Head Up.” His work consists of synth pop-esque tunes with a twinge of 80s rock and modern psychedelic music, but if someone asked me in person what kind of music Djo makes, I’d just say “alternative.” 

His new album DECIDE was released on September 16, 2022, but I’m surprised the KXSC Newsletter hasn’t covered him yet. Unless it has, and I just missed it! In any event, I think DECIDE is Djo’s strongest album to date. Track 1, “Runner,” sets the pace for the rest of the LP: high pitch digital synth tones are accompanied by poppy vocals that cut through the synth bass that dominates Djo’s discography. Plus, there’s a throughline that I think defines the album: change and moving forward. Track 6, “End of Beginning,” a song that my roommates and I think would be a great song to put in a film, has lyrics that read “And when I’m back in Chicago, I feel it / Another version of me, I was in it / I wave goodbye to the end of beginning.” This touches upon what I assume to be Djo’s former life in college at DePaul University in Chicago and his days in Post Animal, a Chicago-based band. 

That’s what I dig about Djo’s music. It can simultaneously be upbeat and danceable, but speak to poignant emotions. I also think his music, filled with deep bass and drums, would work great in movies, movie trailers, television shows, and commercials — which is the type of stuff I like to play on my show, The Soundtrack. Give his stuff a listen…and listen closely, because when you hear his voice, you’ll say, “Oh yeah, that does sound like Steve Harrington!”

- DJ Silver 

Recommended Tracks: “Gloom,” “End of Beginning,” “I Want Your Video,” “Climax,” “Change”  
RIYL: I DONT KNOW HOW BUT THEY FOUND ME, Dayglow, Pond, LCD Soundsystem
FCC: Explicit — "Gloom"