Djo - The Crux

The viral success of "End of Beginning" in 2024, the sixth most-streamed song of that year and a track that charted in 41 countries, gave Joe Keery something he had not previously had: a genuine shot in the arm of confidence, and the means to make the album he had always wanted to make. "Doing a song from beginning to end in a studio and getting bit by that was like, 'Oh man, this is how I want to do this,'" he told Apple Music. The result is The Crux, his first album recorded entirely in a professional studio, and easily his most ambitious and fully realized work to date.

Recorded at the legendary Electric Lady Studios in New York City with longtime collaborator Adam Thein, the album marks a significant evolution from the synth-pop claustrophobia of DECIDE, reaching instead toward a warmer, more expansive sound rooted in analog instrumentation, 1970s pop rock, and unashamedly retro sonic touchstones. Across 12 tracks, Keery proves himself equally gifted as a performer and a songwriter, moving between the crunchy indie rock of lead single "Basic Being Basic," the 1980s-inflected soft rock of "Delete Ya," the delicate, folky romance of "Potion," and the grungy momentum of "Link" with the ease of someone who has finally found exactly the kind of music he wants to make.

Critics responded in kind. Reviewers called it an ambitious, joyous, and heartfelt collection, with one noting that with The Crux, Keery doesn't just prove he owns his space in the pop world as Djo, he has found a home. A world tour and a Coachella performance followed the album's April 2025 release, with a companion deluxe album of 12 additional tracks arriving in September.