You know Joe Keery as Steve Harrington on Stranger Things, but if you’re just learning about his solo music project Djo, we’ve got the Scoops Ahoy right here. After the season five finale, Djo has seen a huge increase in streaming for his 2022 single “End of Beginning”. As a treat, here’s a sampler of some of his other great songs.
“Chateau (Feel Alright)”
Djo released “Chateau (Feel Alright)” on his 2019 debut album Twenty Twenty. This project follows his departure from Post Animal in 2018, and the sound is pretty shoegazey overall. But rather than the endless swirling blend of typical shoegaze, Djo’s work on this album is a little sharper. “Chateau” gets the closest to straight-up vibes, as it plucks its way through shimmery synth and falsetto verses.
“On And On”
For Decide in 2022, Djo took his sound in a slightly darker direction. The beats got slicker, the vocals more sardonic, and the lyrics tackled elements like depression, change, frustration, and waste of life. “On and On” in particular is the sonic equivalent of doom scrolling. With a backbeat of rubbery squonks you can bop your head to, it eventually builds into a cacophony of sound, much like the onslaught of imagery on social media. That build includes the increasingly desperate plea, “Maybe it’s not too late to learn how to love each other / What’s it gonna take to change it? / Don’t you wanna save this planet? / Blame it on manipulation, we’re human after all.” But still, once things die down, it’s right back to the same old doom scrolling.
“Gloom”
Also from Decide, “Gloom” has no lead-in, kicking off immediately with an incessant beat that continues throughout. The lyrics also pull no punches, jumping between ever-maddening situations that culminate in a singular feeling presented in the very first line: “And now I’m ready to go.” Djo goes from looking good in the bar bathroom to realizing he left his wallet in the bar bathroom. It gets increasingly stressful from there, as he punctuates every situation by urging, “I’m ready to go.” But in the end, all it takes is a simple, “So goodbye,” to fix all those problems.
“Gap Tooth Smile”
Djo released his latest album, The Crux, in April 2025, and it served as a distinct departure from his other albums. Here, he’s moved away from the darker shoegaze sound and experimented with a lighter, airier pop-rock sound. “Gap Tooth Smile” is a sweet track in the style of a classic rock love song. Overall, it’s got the texture of something out of the 60s without the rigidity, keeping the loose fluidity of contemporary rock.
“Charlie’s Garden”
Similarly, “Charlie’s Garden” sounds like something from a lost Beatles album, opening with staccato piano and bright vocals. There are little synthy quirks throughout, giving it a psychedelic feel, while the chorus leads listeners through the sonic equivalent of a day off. Charlie Heaton (Joe Keery’s Stranger Things co-star) makes a cameo in this song, playing a casting director or manager who leaves voicemails for Djo. On his day off, they’re calling him in to work, but he resolutely ignores his responsibilities instead.
Photo by Monica Schipper/WireImage
The post 5 Djo Songs You Should Listen to After ‘End of Beginning’ appeared first on VICE.
