Djo has announced his new album ‘The Crux’ and has shared its lead single ‘Basic Being Basic’. Check it out below.
The synth-heavy indie pop track sees Djo – the music moniker of Stranger Things star Joe Keery – flex his falsetto vocals and shrewdly skewer the often online tropes of modern-day posturing.
Speaking about the track in a press release, Djo shared that “It’s kind of a shot fired to anyone who’s trying to be of the moment.” The song’s accompanying music video sees a crew of people sitting and eating lunch before getting up and leaving. At the end of the clip, Keery pops into the camera frame.
‘Basic Being Basic’ marks the first new music since the musician’s 2022 LP ‘Decide’ which housed his viral smash hit ‘End Of Beginning’.
Djo’s third album ‘The Crux’ is set for release on April 4 via AWAL and is available for pre-order here. Co-produced by Keery and his long-time collaborator Adam Thein and recorded at NYC’s legendary Electric Lady Studios, ‘The Crux’ spotlights lush guitars and instrumentation reminiscent of late 60s and 70s pop, signifying a new direction than Keery’s previous bedroom synth-pop albums”: 2019’s ‘Twenty Twenty’ and 2022’s ‘Decide’.
According to a press release, ‘The Crux’ “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.”
Djo ‘The Crux’ front album Cover. Credit: PRESS
Djo ‘The Crux’ back album Cover. Credit: PRESS
Djo’s ‘The Crux’ track list is:
1. ‘Lonesome Is A State of Mind’
2. ‘Basic Being Basic’
3. ‘Link’
4. ‘Potion’
5. ‘Delete Ya’
6. ‘Egg’
7. ‘Fly’
8. ‘Charlie’s Garden’
9. ‘Gap Tooth Smile’
10. ‘Golden Line’
11. ‘Back On You’
12. ‘Crux’
Elsewhere, Djo has also shared the details of his 2025 ‘Back On You Tour’ which will see him make is way across the US, UK and Europe. He will also be making is way down to Australia and New Zealand for his previously announced tour.
Post Animal will be serving as opening support for all US, UK and European dates.
A ticket pre-sale for Djo’s 2025 ‘Back On You Tour’ will be available on Tuesday (January 28) at 9am local time for those who sign up here. General ticket sales will commence on Friday (January 31) at 9am local time. Check out a full list of tour dates below and visit here to purchase US tickets and here for UK tickets.
The musician has also partnered with PLUS1, with $1 per ticket going to provide critical relief and long-term recovery support for individuals, families, and communities impacted by the devastating LA wildfires via the PLUS1 LA Fires Fund.
Djo – 2025 tour poster. Credit: PRESS.
Djo’s 2025 Back On You tour dates are:
FEBRUARY
6 – Auckland, New Zealand – Laneway Festival
8 – Brisbane, Australia – Laneway Festival
9 – Sydney, Australia – Laneway Festival
12 – Sydney, Australia – Enmore Theatre
14 – Melbourne, Australia – Laneway Festival
15 – Adelaide, Australia – Laneway Festival
16 – Perth, Australia – Laneway Festival
APRIL
4 – Portland, OR – Revolution Hall
5 – Portland, OR – Revolution Hall
7 – Vancouver, BC – Commodore Ballroom
8 – Seattle, WA – Paramount Theatre
10 – Oakland, CA – Fox Theater
11 – Indio, CA – Coachella
18 – Indio, CA – Coachella
19 – Phoenix, AZ – The Van Buren
21 – Salt Lake City, UT – Rockwell at the Complex
23 – Denver, CO – The Mission Ballroom
25 – Madison, WI – The Sylvee
26 – Saint Paul, MN – Palace Theatre
28 – Detroit, MI – Royal Oak Music Theatre
29 – Toronto, ON – History
MAY
1 – Washington, DC – The Anthem
2 – Boston, MA – Roadrunner
3 – Philadelphia, PA – Franklin Music Hall
5 – Brooklyn, NY – Brooklyn Steel
6 – Brooklyn, NY – Brooklyn Steel
JUNE
1 – Dublin, Ireland – 3Olympia
2 – Glasgow, UK – O2 Academy
3 – Manchester, UK – Academy
6 – London, UK – O2 Forum Kentish Town
10 – Copenhagen, Denmark – Poolen
11 – Oslo, Norway – Sentrum Scene
13 – Stockholm, Sweden – Annexet
15 – Hilvarenbeek, Netherlands – Best Kept Secret Festival
16 – Cologne, Germany – E-Werk
17 – Berlin, Germany – Huxleys
18 – Warsaw, Poland – Progresja
20 – Scheebel, Germany – Hurricane Festival
21 – Tuttlingen, Germany – Southside Festival
23 – Paris, France – ELYSEE MONTMARTRE
24 – Amsterdam, Netherlands – Paradiso
Previously, Djo opened up about his hit song ‘End Of Beginning’ while appearing on NME’s In Conversation series. “Basically it’s a reflection on my time in my early twenties living in Chicago, where I went to college and graduated and played in a few bands. I was kind of in the music scene [but also] waiting tables and auditioning for commercials and stuff…. And I guess it’s about how I was on the precipice of a big change in my life, but I was so anxious to live out my future that maybe I didn’t realise what a special time I was in,” he explained.
He continued: “So in a lot of ways, it’s a song about a kind of nostalgia – you know [for] another version of me. But it’s also kind of a self-declaration to try to appreciate your present [and be aware that] your past will always stay with you and inform who you are.”
In that same interview, Keery opened up about how his love of Charli XCX and the Chicago DIY scene has been instrumental in his own sound.
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