NEOTHEATER (2019)

Artist: AJR

Release Date: April 26

Genre: Pop

Tracks: 12

Length: 44:28

Neotheater is AJR's third studio album. With every single album, the band seeks to push the boundaries of the music that they release, which is certainly evident in their 2019 release. The story of Neotheater follows the life and times of the human experience―growing up, rolling with the punches, losing childhood naivety, facing the world alone, and being terrified of fading into obscurity. At the very core of the album is a swelling symphony with a 1930s close harmony choir, giving the songs a cinematic, almost Disney-like feel.


As previously mentioned, this album contains a very symphonic/cinematic quality, like every song could be its own movie. The album starts and ends with a close harmony choir and a 1930s-esque orchestra whose elements are woven together with modern hip-hop beats. AJR has always been incredibly good at juxtaposition, whether sonically or lyrically.

Ryan Met, the R in AJR and the band's producer, describes the idea of the Neotheater as a place. He sees it as somewhere they don't have to learn life's cold hard lessons and can just play pretend. The concept of playing pretend―putting on a show―is blatant in the production style. The orchestral elements made me imagine of each of the album's songs being performed almost like a musical number. And yet, the intertwining modern styles truly bring justice to the album's name, that this world above the clouds truly is unlike any other.