There's a specificity to the way AJR have zeroed in on the millennial twentysomething state-of-mind that reinforces the notion that they are writing truthfully and from a sincere emotional place. That sincerity, paired with AJR's clever turn-of-phrase and hooky pop optimism, means Neotheater never sounds anything less than refreshing.
On their third LP, this trio of brothers build on the commercial success of 2017’s The Click, with bubbly tracks steeped in light orchestration, crisp hooks and even a little social commentary.
First of all, let's get the obvious out of the way. This probably appeals to me because lowest common denominator pop music appeals to me. I loved The Click to a point where it's one of my favorite albums. I have such a crazy connection to that album and I was so excited to see what the band would do next.
I think this album is fantastic. The soundscapes and vibe are absolutely great. The instrumentation sounds like something straight out of a Disney film, I know that's always been their vibe ... read more
production improves 1 notch on this album. Besides that this entire experience is deplorable theatre arrested development horseshit. It is cringe to the 5th degree. Garbage beats, and pretentious preachy writing
Yeah, I really can't stand Neotheater. I think it's AJR's cringiest, least mature, worst produced, worst sounding, and overall just worst album since The Living Room. Dear Winter and Karma are both somewhat tolerable due to the more serious nature, but the immature lyrics and songwriting still overall ruin it. I think Birthday Party and Don't Throw Out My Legos really embody this immaturity the best, and serve as a demonstration of why I dislike this album so much. AJR has it in them to make ... read more
Gave this a second try and to say that my opinion changed is an understatement, this was 100 times better than I remember, all songs are amazing... except Birthday Party with the... 38 rating, but the rest had no "bad songs" witj some being better than others of course. I clearly just had the wrong ear out.
Old Rating: 45
Old Review:
I like most of the songs but they all have that same type of godly ahh sound of an ending and it's so uncomfortable to intake the soundwaves that feels ... read more
1 | Next Up Forever 4:16 | 60 |
2 | Birthday Party 3:43 | 32 |
3 | 100 Bad Days 3:32 | 48 |
4 | Don't Throw Out My Legos 4:10 | 51 |
5 | Break My Face 3:46 | 48 |
6 | Turning Out, Pt. II 3:43 | 54 |
7 | The Entertainment's Here 3:07 | 48 |
8 | Karma 4:05 | 63 |
9 | Beats 3:18 | 34 |
10 | Wow, I'm Not Crazy 3:16 | 44 |
11 | Dear Winter 2:48 | 50 |
12 | Finale (Can't Wait To See What You Do Next) 4:37 | 60 |