After a series of hit releases, Joji mesmerized us with hits like “Slow Dancing in the Dark” and “Test Drive”. George Miller, who we once knew as a meme-lord, has shifted his focus from making us laugh to making us cry over a relationship we never had. When George created his music persona, known as Joji, it proved that talent can be multi-faceted.
The rise in self-depreciation pop has become trendy with artists like XXXtentacion and Billie Eilish. Joji entered the game from the beginning of his career, starting with his EP In Tongues. While this EP wasn’t at all sparks and butterflies to make you fall in love, it layed out a promising draft for Joji’s career. In Tongues had an underwhelming feeling that only left us hoping for a turn-around
BALLADS 1 debuted on October 26 as Joji’s debut full length commercial album, and while it’s an improvement from his EP, there isn’t anything particularly thrilling about the 12-track series. Teaser singles were the right kind of appetizers to keep us hopeful for the rest of the album. However, BALLADS 1 suffers from several moments of awkwardly placed effects like the overwhelming bass that distorts his voice.
Hiding his voice is not only a disservice to the song, but to Joji as well. Having a career in the music industry with complications of throat tissue damage should inspire him as an artist to make the most out of his voice. To drown out his voice with any bass or uninvited auto tune is worth shaking your head to in disapproval.
Songs like “Come Thru” and “R.I.P.” continue to coast through generic, murky waters of underdeveloped lyrics and a premature lo-fi formula, heavily relying on repetition to get through the rest of the track. It’s obvious that the album suffers from the inclusion of songs that miss the mark. Half of the content on the album doesn’t measure up to the solidity of the other half, and relies heavily on the sounds of In Tongues as a crutch to maintain throughout the album.
Joji has the right idea when it comes to his aesthetic; the self-depreciation, lo-fi heartbreak vibes are what many modern millennials resonate with. From the beginning I was sold from the vibrancy of the melancholy sound and the fluorescent cinematography from the official music videos. Joji is a project with an abundance of potential that lacks in the execution.
To say that the album is unmemorable is a disgrace to the songs that deserve the appropriate credit. Some like “Slow Dancing in the Dark”, “Test Drive”, “Yeah Right”, “Can’t Get Over You”, and “No Fun” are undeniably solid songs that achieve the right sad-boy vibes that make evenings roll by smoother.
Joji, who sullenly sings “I don’t want a friend, I want my life in two”, is the same guy who once had ravioli in his pocket for a skit. While the saddest content on the same level of devastating as, say The Antlers’s Hospice, Joji’s music is designed for you to relate to, glossed over with feel-good ironically lively beats and occasional complementary guitar riffs.
“Can’t Get Over You” and “No Fun” are bouncy highlights that could sit themselves next to zingers from Paramore’s After Laughter and no one would bat an eye.
In a midst of eye-rolling, overdoses of pop-positivity advocates, Joji is downright honest with his passive-aggressive, morose diary excerpt tracks. The honesty of his apathetic and self-aware nature is refreshing for sullen listeners. While the sentiment remains in the same negative place, the vibe of each track shifts to keep the viewer’s attention (at least until it starts sounding like leftovers from In Tongues).
Joji is growing everso steadily as an artist. Even if BALLADS 1 requires a good sand and polish, there’s room in the future of Joji’s career for stellar sad-boy R&B bangers. With a debut album that already features a single with 26 million views on Youtube, there’s still evident potential for the success that George Miller can bring.
Alma Tovar
Features Editor