In times of uncertainty and hesitation, AJR chooses not to cheer people up but to inspire the populace to channel those feelings into something worth making. Now, that might seem cliché, but it’s actually “What No One’s Thinking.”
AJR, the band of brothers Adam, Jack and Ryan Met, has returned after two years of touring to bring us their first EP since “What Everyone’s Thinking” back in 2016. I, an enormous AJR fan, have been eagerly anticipating new music from these guys because I treat every musical morsel from them like manna from the heavens. Their niche approach to writing and production has always stunned me in particular, and seeing that “What No One’s Thinking” was going to lean further into the “okay, we’re unique” aspect of their brand made me go even more bananas. Sure, maybe others wouldn’t like it as much as I did, but AJR isn’t trying to hit the Billboard charts.
With all of this in mind, I knew I had to hear this album the moment it came out. But I couldn’t just keep my thoughts to myself, no, no: I had to put my review on ProspectorNow.com and tell the world just what I thought of it…
For how fitting AJR’s album openers always are, this is a really unconventional one. Though this first track perfectly sets up the album’s recurring theme of hesitance, it does so in a much more restrained fashion than, say, “Maybe Man,” which has much more of a, “THIS IS THE ALBUM. ARE YOU READY?! WE’RE READY! LET’S GO!” vibe. “The Plane That Never Lands” is not like that in the slightest, which works wonders to establish the album’s wistful and quiet tone.
“The Plane That Never Lands” is a light, shy sort of ballad that is all about commitment. Through Jack’s unsubtle prayers for him never to return home and confront his feelings, we can empathize with his hesitance at each step of the way. A plucky guitar and soft piano chords, underlined by Ryan’s subtle harmonies, trace the trudge to the “climax,” at which we come full circle and “stay [there] in the air” until the song loops back to the plane, never landing.
You can really tell how much Jack’s vocals have matured since “What Everyone’s Thinking,” even though both displays are fantastic. The resonance of his soulful tenor makes any ballad of his ten times more emotional, which makes me cry, which makes me like the song even more. What a trip, man.
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As the title may suggest, this is a song from the perspective of Ryan’s dog, Olly, which I didn’t even realize was the case on my first listen. Though I think that “I’ll never piss on the carpet again” tipped me off on my second one. Here’s Lucas not getting context clues….
“A Dog Song” takes full advantage of canine bliss by having Olly not fully comprehend the concept of death but allowing an instinctual understanding of being a loyal companion. There are frequent references to the brothers’ dad’s death through Olly’s lyrics, talking about “nurses and charts” and having him naively think that moving men lost, along with his toys, the boys’ father. And though he doesn’t truly get what happened, he “found [Ryan] this stick” to make him happier. Aww.
Ryan’s soft and earnest vocals easily manage to tap into his dog’s tiny curiosity, but also effortlessly magnify the latter’s big heart. Pets really are the bestest of buds.
Ah, the first single off of “What No One’s Thinking!” Oh, the hours that I’ve spent with you. Why, it must have been years at this point! Oh, “Betty,” you’ve turned two months of obsessive listening into a lifetime of analysis.
A hell of a good time, albeit one that makes you want to bawl your eyes out. Just like “The Plane That Never Lands,” “Betty” revolves around Jack’s commitment to a relationship and his hesitance to grow closer when he’s unsure of the outcome. Our protagonist knows his partner loves him, but he doesn’t know if he feels the same, which is a complete shift from the way they feel in the album’s opener: he knows his partner doesn’t, and he knows he also doesn’t. It’s an interesting little change, and one that allows for a more upbeat tempo in “Betty” as opposed to the more introspective feel in “The Plane That Never Lands.”
“Betty” excels as a sweet little vibey anthem for this album. Its morals regarding relationships are in line, and its empathetic energy is through the roof, which makes it more similar to “Touchy Feely Fool” than anything. Fun, emotional and awfully detailed in its messages about holding onto someone/something. Plus, it’s just catchy!
“Don’t read my last two messages, I barely slept an hour.”
I could tell from the first two seconds that this was going to be the most personal piece on this album, and my subsequent tears confirmed my suspicions. “I’m Sorry You Went Crazy” is clearly speaking from Ryan’s personal experience: covering someone going crazy through a more hyperbolic, yet still human lens. He talks about how she hurt him with her lunacy, but it morphs more into how she lost herself in the process. She is now just “someone that [she] used to love,” and she doesn’t even recognize it.
Some of these lyrics are almost comical: “Okay, you’re right, and we’re all evil aliens/And thank God you’re here to save the human race from us.” AJR’s sarcastic wording oozes exhaustion with the song’s Ms. Crazy, but they also hold a hint of sadness in their tone. Maybe the brothers still care about her, or they just want to help her save herself. Neither viewpoint is quite wrong, and neither is quite right. All we know is that Crazy’s someone they used to love, but she merely looks like that person and is not the former any longer.
I will say, though, that I don’t find myself revisiting this song nearly as much as any of the other tracks. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing, considering this song is meant for a more thought-provoking and clear environment, but I felt the need to mention its low replayability factor. This will hit hard whenever I’m staring up at my darkened ceiling at 11 P.M., though.
AJR has to make more songs with just piano and guitar, STAT. There aren’t any of their classic wacky samples or production tricks here, and that’s what makes the song so grounded and real. Which makes sense, because why rely on samples to tell your story when you can tell your story yourself? I’m glad that they get this, because it gives us heartfelt songs like “I’m Sorry You Went Crazy.”
The intro for “The Big Goodbye” became an internet sensation when AJR teased it on their socials a couple of weeks ago. This refrain, sampled from Leroy Van Dyke’s “The Auctioneer,” inspired a slew of kooky TikTok dance videos in anticipation of “What No One’s Thinking.” How many thousands of dances, you ask? Oh, only about “5 hundred, 25, will you give me 30, make it 30, will you give me 40, will you give me 45…”
“The Big Goodbye,” like most of AJR’s other album closers, expands on the concept of leaving home for the first time. Our singer looks back on all he’s accomplished in his “little life he’s used to,” but he finds himself stuck thinking about what more he could have done while he was in town. He finds himself in awe of his climb to success and realizes that all he ever needed was where he always was. And although his friends are leaving him behind (and vice versa) as he strives for bigger things, he hopes that they won’t forget him and that he can “FaceTime into all of their weddings.”
(On a side note: How mean is this band to release this when all my friends are leaving for college? How dare they strive to make me feel things!)
But what separates “The Big Goodbye” from AJR’s other “yikes, I’m leaving home” anthems is a certain grassroots feel to it. In metaphorical terms, it captures the feeling of staring up at the sky and empathizing so well with the Earth beneath you that every blade of grass has its own distinct features. This finale is both reminiscent and relatable, yet expansive in its thought process, so that each facet of its production feels generalized rather than specified. “The Big Goodbye” is meant to make you look at where your feet are planted, and it accomplishes that through what AJR is best at: making you think, “Dang. I feel ya.”
And now that we’ve finished this AJR album, we calmly and patiently wait for the next one…
And we wait…
And we wait…
And we start “What No One’s Thinking” again while we do so…
