AJR - Neotheater

blasphemy with smt is back again- this time, with the most recent AJR project, Neotheater. as AJR gear up to release their 4th LP next year (it's pretty much guaranteed at this point), i thought i'd properly improperly review the album that got me into one of the most hated bands on the internet, and explain why i can't dislike this project or them, even with a 28 user score and fantano deeming it one of his worst albums of 2019.

this album, as other reviewers on this site noted, sounds like something straight out of a disney movie, and that is best shown by tracks like "next up forever", which is my favorite ajr opener of all time and one of my favorite ajr tracks. the organ chords over the chorus are amazing, and the production on this song is pretty clean as well. it's really catchy and a huge vibe. before i get into what made me give this album a 75, i'd like to touch on the few duds, most of which are ruined by the writing. i don't hate "birthday party", although the beat is relatively obnoxious (as is the writing). however, some songs are truly horrible. however, "break my face" has some truly horrible writing and a low-key annoying melody (i still vibe with it a bit though), and "beats" takes the cake of bad writing, to the point where it's the only skipper of this album for me, despite having one of the more unique and cool beats (haha) of the album. however, other than the songs i mentioned, this is actually a pretty fun project! "100 bad days" has a super bombastic chorus and a very hooky melody that i love. "don't throw out my legos" is a kinda cute coming-of-age song with a unique vibe (ajr isn't *that* generic, okay?) and a high-octane ending, and "turning out, pt. ii" accomplishes its task of being a sad song about a broken relationship for teens really well, with a similarly toned-down instrumental that's WAY less tacky than something like "call my dad" off of their previous LP. "the entertainment's here" is incredibly catchy and features a fun, happy-go-lucky attitude, and "wow, i'm not crazy" is a faux-acoustic cut that kinda slaps, despite it also being mildly annoying. "dear winter" is an actually-acoustic cut about jack's future child, which is incredibly cute and a little heartwarming as well, and the aptly-named closer, "finale", is one of my favorite cuts from the album for similar reasons as to why i enjoy "next up forever". however, my favorite song off of this project is easily "karma". the beat is really sweet, the writing isn't even that bad, and overall, the song just really slaps hard as heck. i don't know what else to say about this album, but i like it. i will continue to bop this and the click unironically until someone shoots me for it

standout- next up forever, karma, finale
best tracks- 100 bad days, don't throw out my legos, turning out pt. ii, the entertainment's here, wow i'm not crazy, dear winter
worst track- beats