Recommended Tracks: “I’m Sorry You Went Crazy,” “Betty,” “The Big Goodbye”
Artists You May Like: Jon Bellion, Daisy the Great, Madilyn Mei
The wait is finally over: New York’s finest trio AJR finds a way to somehow sound completely different from their usual style, yet produce a project that sounds so authentically them at the same time. All of this is wrapped up tidily with a bow on their latest EP, What No One’s Thinking.
In this folksy five-song collection, the Met brothers — Adam, Jack, and Ryan — continue to write about the intense or mundane aspects of life, such as everyday anxieties and existential dread, atop upbeat, whimsical tracks. What No One’s Thinking explores the things that, quite honestly, people subconsciously think about but rarely want to admit aloud.
This project can be broken into two sections. The “first half” has the typical feel of an AJR song featuring the Met brothers’ distinct voices, and the overall sound is a bit different for them as they experiment with a more folky, acoustic vibe. The songs “The Plane That Never Lands,” “A Dog Song,” and “I’m Sorry You Went Crazy,” each land in this more laid-back category.
Through a more unplugged style, the opening track “The Plane That Never Lands” explores the perspective of a narrator who doesn’t want to face his problems back home and would prefer to stay in denial. To a fun, relaxed tune, he crosses his fingers that the elevator will break, his taxi will never come, and his plane will stay afloat, all in an effort to keep things the same.
Warning: do not under any circumstances listen to “A Dog Song” if you’re not in the right emotional state. I cried within seconds of my first listen of this track…and can’t say I held it together the next time either. Through the lens of an innocent, optimistic family pet, this cathartic track explores the hardships and heartbreak that come with life’s adversity. Laughing and crying through lyrics about moving from place to place, the loss of the brothers’ father, and the uncertainty that comes with living, this song is sure to tug at the heartstrings.
“Can we pause right here, right now / While everyone I love is still in my house / No one’s calling the cops / ‘Cause we’re fighting too loud / Can it stay like this, right here, right now.”
As someone with my own dog, and a hard time living in the moment… I cried, I laughed, and cried some more.
“I’m Sorry You Went Crazy” is a melancholic yet blunt track that explores a past relationship with someone who was clearly holding the singer back and didn’t appreciate him for all he’s worth. Featuring stunning vocals from Ryan at the forefront, this sarcastic song explores the difficulty that comes with being in a relationship with someone who holds opposing values.
The “second half” is introduced by the upbeat third track and the EP’s lead single, “Betty.” Exploring the fear of commitment, the singer speaks about the fictional representation of a significant other that he is terrified of losing, but not quite prepared to “pop the question” to. Facing pressure from her parents and the anxiety of not knowing how to express certain emotions, the singer is left pessimistic. All of this is disguised in an upbeat, playful instrumental typical of the AJR brothers’ sound. The music video for “Betty” is the best and most intricate I have ever seen, taking their editor and tour photographer Austin Roa nearly two months to complete.
“The Big Goodbye” takes listeners by surprise, opening with a fun rendition of what sounds like an old-timey auction house before jumping into an uplifting, experimental riff. This “Music Man”-esque song dives into the grind that comes with starting small and understanding the struggle, to making it “big” by selling out arenas and being known worldwide.
This EP’s closer is not only a culmination of the previous four tracks, but their entire discography. “The Big Goodbye” is most comparable to the band’s 2021 hit “World’s Smallest Violin” from OK Orchestra. Even more directly, the song references their single “Weak” from their 2016 album What Everyone’s Thinking (even the titles are a direct comparison!). This song is a prime example of how even when the lyrics can be somber, the music itself can be disguised as upbeat and lighthearted. It’s a plea to be remembered, a concern the artists have even while currently in the spotlight:
“Someone tell me why / Why my town feels like home / For the first time in years / Why’d I need to be known? / They fuckin’ know me here / But it could be a movie / With a feel good end / Oh, God, I hope it is / Then my whole life could sound like this.”
After seeing AJR both in a small, intimate venue and in large, lively arenas, I can confirm this band is meant to play in grand spaces. There’s something about this song in particular that screams for a full, live orchestra behind it, while the earlier songs belong in the one-thousand-capacity performance space.
You really get the dynamic range of AJR within What No One’s Thinking: the good, the sad, the slow, the fast — The Manhattan brothers simply never miss.
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