Hello, everyone, and welcome back for another album review! Now, before I start talking about this new AJR album, I just want to quickly mention that this is the 300th album from 2023 that I have reviewed! Now, with that being said, the majority of those reviews are mini reviews, but it’s still a pretty big accomplishment in my opinion, and I’m proud of myself for reaching this milestone, especially considering my goal going into the year was 250 … and I still have more reviews on the way! (Although I’m probably almost done reviews for the year, because I’ll be working on year-end lists.)

But anyway, the main topic of this post is the newest AJR album, The Maybe Man. This is the fifth studio album from AJR, a band who gained popularity back in 2014 from their single “I’m Ready” which sampled SpongeBob SquarePants. And they eventually became one of the most hated bands by music critics, despite their massive fanbase. And it kind of feels like a big event in the music critic community whenever AJR releases an album, which is part of the reason I’m giving this album its own review.

But also … well, if I’m being honest, I don’t hate AJR’s music … yeah, I know, that’s breaking one of the unwritten rules of being a music critic, but while they have made some incredibly annoying songs in my opinion, the majority of it is just okay in my opinion, and they even have a couple songs that I love! Yes, you read that right!

Their debut album, Living Room, has some interesting experimentation on it, and while I find “I’m Ready” to be very annoying, I don’t think there’s another song nearly as bad as that one on the whole album, and overall, I don’t dislike that album. I don’t particularly like it, either, but I’ve heard much worse.

My favourite AJR album is their second studio album, The Click, which might actually be their most hated album, but I think they mostly do a good job of displaying the band’s identity with some really creative sounds and lyrics that feel very far from what you’d expect to hear in an album.

But then there’s 2019’s Neotheater. And this is the big exception as out of the first four AJR albums, this is the one that I can’t stand. The production is so much worse, the lyrics feel like they’re trying way too hard to be quirky (unlike The Click which felt a lot less forced to me), and some of the songs are absolutely terrible.

But OK Orchestra felt like a step back in the right direction, and this new album is getting the most positive critical reception of any AJR album so far—or I guess a better way to word it is that it’s getting the least negative reception of any AJR album.

So, after multiple listens, what do I think of it?

Well, it’s another AJR album—it’s not really my thing, but I’ve heard much worse music than this.

The production is hit-or-miss in my opinion, but it’s far from the worst production I’ve heard this year, and at points it sounds really good, like in the opening track.

And while I don’t think the lyrics are as quirky as other AJR albums, there’s still some creative lyrics, and at points the album is very emotional, like in “God is Really Real”, which is about the band members’ father Gary who was terminally ill at the time of the song’s release and passed away shortly after. And I don’t want to be insensitive or anything, but if I’m being totally honest this song just didn’t really do much for me, as much as I do respect it.

But some of the other more emotional moments do at least kind of work for me, such as “Maybe Man”, which has a really interesting idea lyrically showing the pros and cons of alternate realities. And “Turning Out Pt. iii” seems to be showing the narrator in a new relationship, trying to figure out if it’s the right one.

And on a somewhat similar note, “Inertia” shows the narrator getting into an unhealthy relationship … although the problem here in my opinion is that it’s framed as if there’s nothing he can do to solve any of his problems, without giving any explanation of why there’s nothing that can be done.

This album also has some annoying melodies at points, for example in “Hole in the Bottom of My Brain”, and the chorus of “Steve’s Going to London” is also pretty annoying in my opinion.

And again, while there are moments where I like the production, there are also moments where I really don’t like the production, such as “Yes I’m A Mess”, which has clunky percussion, and a very annoyingly jumpy sound to it in the chorus, the kind of bouncy production that I don’t like at all—and the whistling doesn’t make this song any better.

One of the most fascinating songs on the album in my opinion is “Touchy Feely Fool”, but it’s also held back by the production for me. I think it’s interesting how it feels like this song is trying to get you to empathize with the very unlikeable character that Jack portrays here, and even though that’s usually the kind of song that really annoys me, in this case for whatever reason I actually think it’s pretty effective with the melodies and that busy percussion, but the production feels kind of messy and doesn’t let the chorus soar like it could.

And there are lots of other production nitpicks I could make, like how the strings don’t blend in super well in “The DJ is Crying for Help”, or how the vocals feel drowned out in the chorus of “Inertia” (even though I can kind of see how it might represent the narrator feeling stuck, I just don’t like how it sounds), or the vocal production not really fitting on “I Won’t” … but overall, I don’t think it’s a badly produced album. I haven’t even mentioned “The Dumb Song” yet, which I think has some of the best production on the album, with that really nice snare and some really smooth production throughout the track.

And there’s also the closing track, “2085”, which is probably my favourite song on the album, with a really nice sounding guitar (or maybe ukulele or something?), and I think it’s mostly well mixed.

Overall, I don’t think “2085” is amazing or anything, but it’s got some of my favourite vocal melodies on the album, and I like the lyrics that look ahead to the future.

So, overall, I don’t think The Maybe Man is a great album, but I do think it’s at least somewhat interesting … I mean, almost every AJR album has been interesting, if not every one. Yes, even Neotheater, which I don’t think is good at all, but it’s interesting.

But I don’t hate this album or even dislike it. It shows the band heading in an interesting direction, and they have a good balance of quirky songs and emotional songs, and some of their songs are both quirky and emotional, and it’s another album that makes me curious to hear more from the band.

I wouldn’t really call myself an AJR fan, and this album didn’t really wow me or anything, but again, I can’t say I dislike it.

So, for me it’s a 5/10. It’s got a couple good tracks, even if I don’t really love any of them. But it also doesn’t have the same low points as any of their other albums in my opinion. I get why so many people can’t stand AJR’s music, but I guess certain elements of it speak to me a bit more, even if I wouldn’t call myself a fan of the band.

But feel free to let me know what you think in the comments, and as always, thanks for reading!

Final Thoughts
Rating: 5/10
Favourite Tracks: “Maybe Man”, “Turning Out Pt. iii”, “2085”
Least Favourite Tracks: “Yes I’m A Mess”, “Inertia”