It has been a decade since the Met brothers (Adam, Jack, and Ryan) launched their first EP; and eight years since their debut album. This past month, they released their fifth full-length album, The Maybe Man. At this point in their career, AJR have become known for poppy zingers – catchy songs with clever lines – and they have built themselves up into a solidly successful act, with over 10 million monthly listeners on Spotify.1
AJR has a knack for making boppy tracks with lyrics that capture less-than-boppy subjects, which is, I think, the driver of their success. You don’t really have to look farther than “Bang!” (from 2021’s OK Orchestra) for proper evidence. And that’s definitely their niche. The Maybe Man flows smoothly down that same groove.
They’re also very aware that this is their niche, and the album’s opener and title track, “Maybe Man”, is proof of this. It’s an almost four-minute intro track which never really feels like it builds into more. Most of the song, lyrically, entails the speaker wishing for various things and then finding the flaws in these various scenarios. As a song, it isn’t really an enjoyable listen; it feels like its setting a tone for the rest of the album, but the album also doesn’t follow perfectly. Ultimately, it just feels like they were trying too hard to do something impressive and ended up with something confusing; albeit a nice standalone poem if it were just printed to paper.
Most of the rest of the album is better, with “Yes I’m a Mess” providing the first real standout lyrics (“Yes, I’m a mess/With an ‘S’ on my chest”) and melody of the album. This is followed soon after by “Inertia”, and these ultimately prove to be the best songs on the album.
AJR’s problem, ultimately, is that even when they completely change tack between songs, the songs still manage to sound damn-near identical. By the time you get to the end of an album, you’re craving anything different. I can’t put my finger on what it is, exactly; likely a blend of things, such as the lack of real drums and the persistent upbeat tone.
There are definitely a few good songs here that make the album worth the listen. Overall, though, I’m left with the same mild irritation and confusion that most of AJR’s discography inspires.
Rating: Yellow
For perspective (as of the time of this writing):
Taylor Swift has 108M
Beyonce has 46M
Hozier has 30M
Metallica has 24M (as does Noah Kahan)
Carly Rae Jepsen has 16M
Ghost has 9M
while Coheed & Cambria and Sigur Ros only have 1M each