AJR’s “Neotheater” transcends Pop Music

AJR’s “Neotheater” is what you get when you mix the lyrical introspection of twenty one pilots, with the absurd production chops of Jon Bellion, and add a splash of Jack Antonoff’s knack to make make a record tell a complete story.

This album, as its title would suggest, is a new form of theater. The AJR brothers (Adam, Jack, and Ryan Met) made a record that could just as easily be turned into a Broadway musical as it is streamed on Spotify because of the themes it represents, its hidden reprises, and even its refusal to follow a single tempo for any given song. Whether that comes from a string section playing the chorus of an earlier song in the background of another track, or a lyric being brought back in a small sample, the album connects from top to bottom. (SPOILER ALERT: Check “Break My Face” for a piece of “Birthday Party”). “Neotheater” is a tale of twenty-somethings using simple questions combined with overarching themes of life to address the time and space in which the songwriters are in their lives, and that authenticity shines through every lyric, orchestral melody, and funky hip-hop beat.

From the top, “Neotheater” pays homage to a time where records accomplished the previously stated goal they set out for of completing a narrative. The use of 1920’s sounding harmonies off the top of “Next Up Forever,” the first track, straight into an electric sounding beat lets you know AJR is not going to stay within the confines of a traditional pop record.

Their previous album, “The Click,” explored some new territory in both lyrics and production, but this album felt like a conscious effort to take a risk and explore a new space. That’s something I admire in an artist or group.

Often times, an artist’s sense of comfort or fear of failure can lead them to attempt to duplicate success. It’s easy to make a carbon copy what you’ve done before and know your fans will like it. For example, the Plain White T’s did their best to duplicate the success of their hit, “Hey There Delilah,” with the knock off, “1234.” While “1234” was a fine song and it worked in part, what did it really accomplish in terms of artistry? (We’ll get back to “Hey There Delilah” in a bit…).

It’s the great ones who make every record unique to themselves but different from any of their previous work. It is actually something I greatly admire about Bruce Springsteen. Every Springsteen song certainly sounds like Springsteen, but each record takes on a new domain. When Bruce had smashing success with “Born to Run,” it would have been easy to pump out another 8-track record duplicating the folksiness of Thunder Road, attitude of Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out, anthem sound of Born to Run, and ballad of Jungleland falling 1st, 2nd, 4th, and 5th on the new album. Instead, he took 3 years and addressed his conflict with his record company and the negativity swirling around him while writing nearly 40 songs (10 of which made the cut) for “Darkness on the Edge of Town,” and he’s used that same process ever since.

AJR takes a similar path with this record in that they refuse to just write the same style of bops that came from the record before. Yes, there are a few “bangers” on this record, but lyrically, they almost feel accidental. Each song captures an emotion and the band makes a brilliant production choice in using an almost over-abundance of strings and horns. Similar to when you hear a piano melody in your favorite TV show that indicates a moment where you’re about to cry, the band taps into your subconscious. With the strings, you know it’s a moment of feeling the dramatic or deeper thoughts on the record, while with horns, you feel happy. There’s even a school bell ringing buried in production, but I’ll let you find that yourself. Nonetheless, each these choices tap into a specific feeling the band wants you to have while listening to a given song — whether that’s nostalgia, love, or hope.

Before I wrap up this long-winded way of saying, “This album was good and you should listen,” I do want to add a few quick notes about some individual songs’ lyrics concepts:

• “Next Up Forever” — The concept of wanting to always be on the chase is relevant to any young person searching for the next step. In this case, in literal terms, it’s about the album, but it can be true to relationships, jobs, etc.
• “Don’t Throw Out My Legos” — Anyone who has reached the moment of moving out of their parents house will cry listening to this song. There. I said it.
• “Turning Out, Part ii” — I’m not sure I’ve heard a love song tackle this subject in this way. The overall concept is loving the idea of another person rather than actually having been in love with them and the tolls that can take on a person.
• “Karma” — What happens when you feel you’ve been doing everything right but you haven’t quite found what you’re searching for quite yet? This song, set as a visit to the therapist’s office, delves into that.
• “Dear Winter” — The one acoustic song on the record…if this doesn’t become the “Hey There Delilah” of this generation’s angsty teenagers, we riot. (See. I told you I’d bring it back)

AJR tackled a new domain with this album. They pushed the boundaries of pop music and quite literally told a story. I believe more artists should write this way. In the era of streams, many artists pump out a 2-minute song with a catchy hook to get you to listen as much as possible. AJR put out a complete record.

This is (technically) a sports site, so I’ll put it into sports terms. Mosts artists like Chris Davis — every once in a while they’ll avoid the strikeout and hit a homer, and they just have to live with those results because of the payoff. AJR made a Mike Trout-level record — it does all the little things well *and* consistently hits home runs.

So, anyway. Stream the album. Listen from it front to end. Pay respect to a group who made some music the right way. Cool? Cool.

(If you want more detail from the men themselves and are a music nerd like me, you’ll enjoy this breakdown in the link they tweet here.)

Dove extremely deep into the production & songwriting of Neotheater with one of our best friends @zachsang1. Watch the full 90 minute track-by track interview on YouTube https://t.co/66y6V3HjvA pic.twitter.com/RISJI93VCG

— AJR (@AJRBrothers) April 29, 2019