Neotheater
Neotheater | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | April 26, 2019 | |||
Length | 44:28 | |||
Label |
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Producer | AJR | |||
AJR chronology | ||||
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Singles from Neotheater | ||||
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Neotheater is the third studio album by American pop band AJR. It was released on April 26, 2019,[1] by the band's label AJR Productions. The album was self-produced by the trio.
Background[]
The 12 tracks were collectively described as "a coming of age tale that hears the band coming to terms with the sacrifices that come with growing older now that they are in their 20s". A description of the album also stated: "The buoyant and uplifting music is juxtaposed with darker lyrical narratives that touch on anxiety, naivete and searching for integrity."[2]
Singles and promotional singles[]
This album contained two official singles, and two promotional singles. AJR released the lead single "100 Bad Days" on January 29, 2019. They also released two promotional singles "Birthday Party" on March 12, 2019, and "Dear Winter" on April 5, 2019. "Dear Winter" was later released as the second official single on August 19, 2019. On October 25, 2019 they released "Dear Winter 2.0," an alternate version of the original song with added instruments.
Commercial performance[]
Neotheater debuted at number eight on the US Billboard 200 with 32,000 album-equivalent units (of which 22,000 were pure album sales). It is AJR's highest-peaking and first US top 10 album.[3]
Critical Reception[]
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [4] |
Rolling Stone | [5] |
The album received favorable to mixed reviews. Rolling Stone wrote in par, citing the bubbly tracks stepped in light orchestration, crisp hooks, and the social commentary, while AllMusic says that the album is less than refreshing.
The Neotheater World Tour[]
The Neotheater World Tour was announced in March 2019, 1 month before Neotheater released. The tour went on from September-December 2019. The tour took the brothers out of the United States to different countries like the United Kingdom and France.[6] The Neotheater World Tour Part 2 was announced in early 2020 but was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[7]
Track listing[]
All tracks are written by Jack Met and Ryan Met. All tracks are produced by Ryan Met.
No. | Title | Length |
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1. | "Next Up Forever" | 4:17 |
2. | "Birthday Party" | 3:44 |
3. | "100 Bad Days" | 3:33 |
4. | "Don't Throw Out My Legos" | 4:11 |
5. | "Break My Face" | 3:46 |
6. | "Turning Out Pt. II" | 3:43 |
7. | "The Entertainment's Here" | 3:07 |
8. | "Karma" | 4:05 |
9. | "Beats" | 3:19 |
10. | "Wow, I'm Not Crazy" | 3:17 |
11. | "Dear Winter" | 2:48 |
12. | "Finale (Can't Wait to See What You Do Next)" | 4:38 |
Total length: | 44:28 |
Notes
- "Birthday Party" features a sample of the song "In Heaven", written by David Lynch and performed by Laurel Near in the 1977 film Eraserhead.[8]
- Ryan Met is credited with writing two of the songs on this album by himself. One of those songs is "Dear Winter." Jack Met further discusses the origins of this song at 18:30 - 22:37 of source 7. [9]
Personnel[]
Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.[10]
AJR
- Adam Met – vocals, bass guitar, programming, samples, percussion
- Jack Met – lead vocals, guitar, melodica, ukulele, drums, percussion, keyboards, synthesizers, samples, programming, trumpet, composition
- Ryan Met – vocals, programming, keyboards, ukulele, trumpet, production, composition
Additional personnel
- Daniel Rosenfeld – audio editing, composing
- Maikel Valdama – audio editing, mixing
- Drew Allsbrook – bass guitar (5, 10)
- Chris Berry – drums (2–4)
- Chris Cerrato – design
- Ezra Donellan – vocals (2)
- Samia Finnerty – vocals (5, 9, 12)
- Chris Gehringer – mastering
- JJ Kirkpatrick – trumpet (3–5, 7)
- Ruth Kornblatt-Stier – cello (1, 2, 6, 8, 9, 12)
- Emelia Suljic – violin (3–5, 7)
- Joe Zook – mixing
Charts[]
Weekly charts[]
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Year-end charts[]
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References[]
- ^ Adam Met, Jack Met, Ryan Met (March 10, 2019). NEOTHEATER - 4/26 (ALBUM TRAILER). AJR Productions – via YouTube.
- ^ "AJR Neotheater – CD". Retrieved April 25, 2019.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Caulfield, Keith (May 6, 2019). "P!nk's 'Hurts 2B Human' Album Debuts at No. 1 on Billboard 200 Chart". Billboard. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
- ^ Collar, Matt. "Neotheater - AJR". AllMusic. Retrieved 2019-06-18.
- ^ Dolan, Jon. "Review: AJR Dance Through Coming of Age Reality on 'Neotheater'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2019-06-18.
- ^ "Login • Instagram". www.instagram.com. Retrieved 2021-03-22.
- ^ "CANCELLED: AJR: The Neotheater World Tour - Part 2 with Almost Monday". PRODUCTION SIMPLE. Retrieved 2021-03-22.
- ^ Met, Jack (March 26, 2019). AJR Chat About Their Latest LP, "Neotheater" (YouTube video). BUILD Series. Event occurs at 13:27. Retrieved August 16, 2019.
- ^ AJR [LIVE Acoustic Performance] | 101X, retrieved 2021-04-07
- ^ Neotheater (Media notes). AJR. AJR Productions. 2019.CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
- ^ "ARIA Australian Top 50 Digital Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. May 6, 2019. Retrieved May 4, 2019.
- ^ "AJR Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 11, 2019.
- ^ "AJR Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 11, 2019.
- ^ "Top Rock Albums – Year-End 2019". Billboard. Retrieved July 9, 2020.
- 2019 albums
- AJR (band) albums
- Indie pop albums
- Indie pop albums by American artists