Album Review: Joji’s SMITHEREENS
By CALISTA LEE ‘24
On Nov. 4, Joji released his first full-length album since Sept. 2020. Consisting of nine songs, SMITHEREENS reveals a new and experimental sound for the singer. The album is divided into two discs, each with different energies and vocals.
Disc 1, the first part, starts with “Glimpse of Us,” which is followed by “Feeling Like The End,” “Die For You,” “Before the Day Is Over,” and finally, “Dissolve.” This half has a normal Joji sound, not straying too far from his typical sad songs with pop undertones. “Glimpse of Us,” released earlier this year, led this disc. Since its release, it has racked up over 600 million streams on Spotify. It starts off the disc with a fresh, exciting sound.
The next song, a personal favorite of mine is “Die For You,” which has an ethereal piano underneath Joji’s even more heavenly vocals. After that, the other songs aren’t anything too special. On my first listen, I didn’t really find much to grab onto. But, like many of his previous songs, they grow on you. I think that although many of the tracks on this disc are too short, they are still catchy and memorable.
Differentiated through the capitalization of each song’s title, Disc 2 had much more of an unusual tune to it. With tracks like “NIGHT RIDER,” “BLAHBLAHBLAH DEMO,” “YUKON,” and “1AM FREESTYLE,” the titles already give away the overall vibe. However, these songs are not as underdeveloped as I expected. Although experimental, they show a particular sound that was more prevalent in Joji’s older music. These songs don’t seem to be especially created to gain popularity, but rather to give the artist more self-expression. Joji is known to not care so much about the reception of his works, but rather the fact that he can make music.
“1AM FREESTYLE” is the track that stuck with me the most, although it felt a little shorter than I wanted it. Like the others in this disc, it had a grittier, deeper feeling. “NIGHT RIDER” was not really my taste, but it had similar tones to “High Hopes” and “Pretty Boy” from his last album, Nectar.
Although I’m undoubtedly a big-time Joji supporter, I can’t help but feel a little disappointed with the songs in this album. Don’t get me wrong, they are all really good, but all of them (excluding “Glimpse of Us”) feel a little too fast and short. All of the songs are under four minutes (most are around two and a half). Though there are still many good tracks that I enjoy, for being the first album we’ve heard from Joji in two years, it feels kind of anticlimactic. It’s still a great track. But, compared to his other masterpieces, it just doesn’t live up to his reputation. Nevertheless, if you’re looking for some new songs and a unique sound, I urge you to check out this album. And if you have time, take a look at the rest of his songs.
