AJR - Neotheater

Similar to OK ORCHESTRA, Neotheater is one of my favorite albums right now. Its combination of instruments, and vocals are great. This album I re-discovered recently when I went back to review all of AJR’s albums, when I first listened to this I was expecting to tear into it and give it an incredibly low score, followed by a half-assed review for a half-assed album. That’s not how I feel with this album. This album is incredibly catchy and fun to listen to, everytime I hear one of these tracks I can’t help but bop to it, this album is amazing for that reason. That being said, for the lyrics… they’re typical AJR stuff yeah, but like the rest of their catalog the lyrics don’t actually annoy me at all.

Next Up Forever - 100/100
This song feels great to listen to, the beginning vocals are really nice with the piano in the background, and it sounds very grand. The drop is just incredible, I absolutely love it. The way the song transitions into its quieter parts is also really cool and I enjoy it a lot. This almost feels like a movie soundtrack song with vocals over it, which I like. The grand outro that then becomes cut around is also something I love about this song.

Birthday Party - 100/100
I am very sorry for this rating, but I love this song so much. That intro is just amazing, I love the way it comes in and the other instruments that go on it. The vocals come in and they sound great as well. The weird vocals before the drop I really like for whatever reason, the drop is also a great part of the song, one of my favorite drops off the album.. The 2/3rds portion of the track also sounds really nice as well, the other vocals played are really nice, then the overlay they have towards the end before the last drop is really good too. The last drop is better than the previous ones because of the vocals that are overlaid. This song genuinely, no joke whatsoever, is my favorite song on this album.

100 Bad Days - 100/100
That intro is quite nice, the way the vocals come in is just as good as every other track. The sound of the beginning is quite grand as well, similar to the first one. The chorus here I understand why it would annoy people, but it does not annoy me at all, it did when I first listened to this track though. The drop is FIRE it’s so good it goes crazy and it’s the main reason I love this song so much. The pre and post-chorus also complement it very well when they’re present. The bridge at the end is also just wow. Lovely. The outro is quite nice as well.

Don’t Throw Out My Legos - 100/100
The song starts out with some really nice-sounding chops, and that’s one of my favorite things about this song. The way the chops come in for the drop is also just blissful, I love it so much. The way the singing is done on the post-chorus, then the drop hits, and just it sounds so good. The way the song ramps near the end before the second chorus sounds amazing as well. Then the ending bit comes in and that’s my favorite part of this song

Break My Face - 100/100
This song starts out with a nice riff, and the way it builds up into the melody I love a lot, the melody itself is really good too. I love the piano in the background with the other instruments and the way everything goes together. The vocals are also really pleasing on this track. The drop is one of my favorites from this album. The part between drops is also quite pleasant to my ears. The bridge near the end is incredible.

Turning Out Pt.ii - 100/100
The slow start here is quite nice too, with its slower instrumental and the charming vocals near the end. The lyrics here are some of the best on the album, and this is an amazing addition to the album, having a slower song split up the album full of more poppy, fast songs. It adds to the flow of the album.

The Entertainment’s Here - 100/100
This is my second favorite track on this album, the way it starts swiftly with chopped vocals and a really nice piano in the background, this song feels so good to listen to, the way it progresses. The gradual pitching down of vocals in the first verse is really nice. The drop goes harder than it needs to, it sounds incredible. The instrumentation added and the vocals that come in the background saying “the entertainments here” are really good. The yup yup yup yup at the end is also really satisfying, along with how the song ends.

Karma - 100/100
The song’s start sounds really nice with the choir vocals in the background, then the song ramps up and it goes incredibly hard. The first verse also sounds incredible, I love it. The way the verse fades out with the instrument build-up also sounds incredibly pleasing to listen to. The third chorus has a really nice vocal layering to it. The na-na-na-na in the background of the bridge before the outro really amplifies that part of the song. The way the song just kinda cuts out is pretty cool too.

Beats - 95/100
The song starts out with wavy and staticy sounds, and then it goes into a nice sounding instrumental. The chorus on here is a bit lackluster but it still sounds really good, it just feels a bit empty compared to everything else. The whole song has the staticy sound from the beginning put throughout on occasion. The part before the outro is my favorite part of this song, it sounds amazing and goes well with everything else.

Wow, I’m Not Crazy - 100/100
This song starts out with some cutesy sounding vocals and guitar, the yup yup yup is brought back from The Entertainment’s Here which I quite enjoy, the song’s got a very enjoyable beginning and chorus. The chorus coming in with the yup yup yup is something I love about this song. The way the chorus fades out is great, I love the pitched-down vocals on the bridge after the first chorus. The ending is also pretty nice

Dear Winter - 100/100
Dear Winter was the first track I heard off this album, my friend recommended it to me because of how heartfelt it is. The lyrics on here are definitely the best on this album. The track’s slow guitar and slow emotional vocals are really pleasing to the ears. There isn’t too much to say about this because it is very similar throughout, but the way the chorus comes in and the transitions from the verses and choruses are really nice sounding.

Finale (Can’t Wait To See What You Do Next) - 100/100
This song complements the first very well by using the same vocal pattern with different lyrics is quite nice, the transition from the intro to the next part by using static is really good. The drops go crazy too, and the vocals that pitch-shifted come in at 3:00 in sound awesome. The ending of the song sounds the most grand of anything on the album, the way the vocals connect back to the beginning is also awesome. The way the song finishes is immaculate

I love this album, I get why others don't, but this album puts me in a vibe, I absolutely love the sound AJR has. I know the average of my track ratings isn't 100, but I'm gonna give it a 100 because Beats isn't a skip, I love that song it just feels a bit empty. Now I gotta do this for Living Room and The Click/The Click Deluxe, and their other EPs. I'm not doing this with Born and Bred though, that album is ass!

EDIT: fixed a couple errors and 100-99 because of Beats