Smithereens – Joji

“Smithereens” is the third studio album by alternative pop singer Joji. This nine-track album was released on November 4th, 2022. Following his 2020 album, “Nectar”, fans were expecting great things with this album. In preparation for putting this album out, he released the single “Glimpse of Us”, which has built the excitement for this album. In addition, “Yukon (Interlude)” was also released before the album as the second single. Lyrically, this album typically sticks to the general concept of love in Joji’s life, like how he cannot seem to find a love that will stick. The reviews of this album have been mixed, as listeners feel disappointed by the album’s length, as it is about 25 minutes long. As far as my favorite song, “Die for You” wins by a landslide. With a dreamy and slow beat, it follows Joji in a story where he loves someone so much, but the feelings aren’t reciprocated, as they are no longer together. Another great song on the album is “NIGHT RIDER”, as it is more like older lo-fi type music he used to make. My third favorite song is “Feeling Like the End”, which has a pop feel to it, which really contradicts with the slower feeling of the songs before. Though most songs on the album have a general meaning of loss of love, most songs are still upbeat and have that pop feel to them. Overall, I’d give this album an 8/10 as I enjoyed the music, but none of it really stood out to me as any different than his previous work.