Joji - SMITHEREENS REVIEW

4.0/10

Joji started off 2022 strong with his beautifully saddening single "Glimpse of Us", which is one of my and many others' favorite tracks of the year. However, following that release came another single titled "YUKON (INTERLUDE)", a surprisingly bland track compared to "Glimpse of Us". Little did I know, this underwhelming feeling would carry onto Joji's eventual album release.

'SMITHEREENS' is a confusing project; I want to love it but I just can't. The album contains wonderful vocals on tracks such as "1AM FREESTYLE" and "Glimpse of Us" and is absolutely littered with gorgeous synths on tracks such as "NIGHT RIDER" but lacks overall cohesion and satisfaction. Compared to his last two albums, this is a complete and utter blowout; 'SMITHEREENS' left me with an unsatisfied feeling, is filled with unfinished filler demo-sounding tracks, and lacks an overall theme or storyline Joji's last album had. This album feels like Joji wanted to push an album out as soon as possible to make 88rising happy before he leaves. This is Joji's most forgettable piece of work yet. I hope he comes out with something better after this.

give it a listen