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  • THE MAYBE MAN MAY BE AJR'S BEST ALBUM YET

    By Theo MacQuarrie

      On November 10, 2023, indie band AJR released their fifth studio album, The Maybe Man. The band had released five out of the twelve songs as singles over the past year and a half, receiving much praise.   AJR is a band first created in 2005 by three brothers, Adam, Jack, and Ryan Met. When the band was first formed it was rejected by record labels for ten years but that never stopped them. In 2015 they released their first studio album, “Living Room” and they only grew from there.

      The band has received a lot of praise for writing songs about relatable topics and using unique sounds in their music. In 2021 they released “OK Orchestra” which had the song “World’s Smallest Violin” go immensely viral on TikTok.

      One of their songs called “God Is Really Real” talks about how their father had gotten sick and passed away and how they dealt with the loss. Currently, the most popular song on the album is “Yes I’m A Mess” which juggles the idea of blowing up one’s life in order to start again with a blank slate, a concept many can relate to.

      This album has received much praise from fans. Many people cite “Inertia” as the best song on the album, as it deals with topics such as feeling trapped in one’s own life and the feeling of being stuck doing the same thing, which very much relates to the scientific definition of inertia.

      My top two favorite songs on the album go together and must come as a duo because of how connected they are. The first song on the album, "Maybe Man," is about someone who isn’t sure what they want to be. So, they list off things they could be but find a negative aspect to all of them. 

      “2085” is the last song on the album and it juggles the idea of growing old and realizing one has wasted their life as well as figuring out what really matters to them. In the end, it transitions into a continuation of “Maybe Man”, ending the song in a jaw-dropping finale that left me speechless.

      AJR has received backlash before because of their unique choices of some of the sounds in their music. The band uses many unconventional noises like changes in pitch and tempo, and using horse galloping to back up a beat. Producer, keyboardist, and backup vocalist Ryan Met said in an interview on the Zach Sang Show YouTube channel that they deal with most criticism by imagining insults as compliments. He said that people compare them to aliens who are making songs about what they perceive to be relatable to people, and he reimagines this as a compliment and it works for him.

      From the beautiful and complex love song “Turning Out Pt. iii”, and the rest of those in the musical trilogy spanning three albums, to the intentionally meaningless verses of “Steve’s Going To London” " this album has so much to offer. Fans say that the main reason they love AJR so much is because they see themselves going through the same problems as the characters in these songs. AJR has said in the past that they put most of the money they make from tours, songs, and events right back into their music. I’ve already bought the tickets for their upcoming first-ever stadium tour. Their first Boston show sold out, so they added another one in August.

      This band makes people feel good about themselves. They make people happy to be where they are. People need that, because if they don’t have it then the next generation won’t be ready to take on the challenges of today or tomorrow.