AJR – The Maybe Man LP

Description

The New York sibling trio AJR balance bittersweet and uplifting emotions on their fifth album, 2023’s The Maybe Man. Once again featuring the talents of the Met brothers —Adam(vocals/bass),Jack(vocals/guitar), andRyan(guitar/piano/vocals) — the set was recorded while their father was battling cancer, which he would ultimately die from. It’s an emotional experience that underscores the album, and one they explicitly address on “God Is Really Real.” While that song is necessarily sad, the record is overall an uplifting one, full of the group’s pop hooks, trademark candor, and self-effacing humor. On “Touchy Feely Fool” they tackle the idea of not being able to end a toxic relationship with the wry line “I’m screwed/But, hey, what can you do?/I’m a touchy-feely fool/I would give anything to not give a sh*t about you.” The album is also as stylistically varied as their past work, moving from the sparkling,Squeeze-esque ’80s pop of “The Dumb Song” to the ’90s R&B grooves of “Intertia” and the club-ready, hip-hop-inspired revelry of “I Won’t.” With The Maybe Man, AJR continue to turn their personal pain and anxieties into universally relatable pop anthems. -All Music Guide