Most people recognize Joe Keery for his standout role as Steve Harrington in Netflix’s Sci-Fi series Stranger Things. A massive hit that has become a Pop culture phenomenon, few might realize that Keery is actually a musician outside of acting. Impassioned and dedicated to music, he played guitar and drums in the Pysch-Rock band Post Animals before his acting career took off with Stranger Things.
Working with Post Animals for some time, as acting began to take up much of his time, Keery unfortunately had to step away, but this did not mean his musical aspirations were in the past. Still having the music running through him, Keery emerged in 2019 with his project, which he calls Djo.
Keeping with the name Djo, Keery released the debut album Twenty Twenty in 2019 and received extensive critical and fan praise. Blending modern Pop sounds with ‘60s Psychedelic Rock, you could be cynical and say Keery’s Stranger Things fame was the cause of such attention, and while this might be sure, few can argue that the music he is recording as Djo is not of high quality. With this in mind, Keery has continued to provide himself with a bright and inventive musician as he dipped into a more Synthrock sound for his second album, 2022’s DECIDE. Someone who evidently revels in artistic experimentation, he now returns in 2025 with the third Djo album, The Crux.
Released on April 4, 2025, independently, with distribution from AWAL, you have to wonder where he will go with The Crux. Looking at recent history, you could argue that he takes what he did for Twenty Twenty and DECIDE and introduces the two together to create a new offspring with handpicked characteristics. Twelve songs, including the popular pre-released singles “Basic Being Basic” and “Delete Ya,” Djo’s The Crux, show off irresistible Pop hooks with some sensational Rock-n Roll tendencies.
It chalked full of various influences that range from Power Pop of the ‘80s like The Cars or The Outfield (with songs like “Link” and “Egg”) to Heartland Rock like Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (with others like “Potion”), there is not one dull moment throughout The Crux. In fact, with each song sounding unique, Keery creates an album that would appeal to anyone who appreciates anything from the artists previously mentioned to The Beatles and David Bowie to The Velvet Underground.
Overall, The Crux is a highly diverse Pop Rock album. If we lived in an era when MTV still played music videos, you could easily imagine many of these songs in heavy rotation on the channel. Bright, colorful, and exceptionally well-produced, Cryptic Rock gives The Crux 4.5 out of 5 stars.
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