Welcoming you to his house of mirrors, Djo AKA Joe Keery AKA Steve from Stranger Things teases you in with electric guitar squeals and distorted chants – just forget about his hair transformation for now.
Each track waves your torso to the beat, whether it stretches you out with high notes or squashes you between each manipulated snippet of Djo’s whisper, leaving your reflection a perfect Picasso portrait. Twinkling synth cascades across the glass, turning your stroll into a delightful pastel echo chamber. Through the listen, Djo’s vocals can leave you woozy and a bit weak at the knees, as he dips between croons and melodies. Journeying from reflection to reflection, you await a house of horrors twist as it feels too good to be true, but with each slope of the glass, the album only flourishes.
Through Djo, Joe Keery built a carnival not only to last but to take you back. The resonance of each riff or beat is not new, but redesigned and reshaped into the beauty it is today. The face of psych or alternative mirrored through his own design, and from his 80’s mullet in Stranger Things to between the ebbs and flows of the mirrors, it reveals a sleeker person who shouldn’t be underestimated.
With every bone in my body, I hope the rest of Carnival Djo is under construction because I cannot wait to experience whatever rollercoaster’s twists and turns lies ahead.
Haiku Review
Djo’s house of mirrors,
Reflecting some stranger things,
Why not have a peek?
Listen to Djo on Spotify and Apple Music.
