Published: September 22, 2025
The Crux Deluxe is the most recent album from rising indie star Joe Keery, better known as Djo (pronounced “Joe”). Keery is widely recognized for playing Steve in Netflix’s Stranger Things, and for his song “End of Beginning,” which rose to overplayed virality back in early 2024. However, “End of Beginning” represents only a fraction of Djo’s musical talent as heard on The Crux Deluxe. The first Crux album dropped this past April to widespread acclaim from both critics and fans. While The Crux Deluxe doubles the number of tracks compared to the original, in his Instagram post promoting the album’s release, Djo asserts that The Crux Deluxe acts as an extension of his vision for the first album rather than as a whole new beast.
“Although this is a new album, it didn’t feel like a new body of work to me,” Djo said.
“These were all written within the same window as the songs that made The Crux and sonically and lyrically explore similar themes that I was grappling with in my own life.”
Djo’s sound usually floats somewhere in the chill psychedelic rock/pop range, especially in his first two albums, Twenty Twenty and DECIDE. However, The Crux Deluxe features tracks like “Basic Being Basic,” “Link,” and “Mr. Mountebank,”that are simultaneously more raucous and upbeat than anything previously seen in his discography, while also showcasing several deeply contemplative works such as “Carry The Name” and “Golden Line.” This album feels like a culmination of everything that made his previous releases memorable but with an added layer of intention and polish. At times it retains the chill, smooth, and synth-driven sounds of his earlier works, but also has guitar-heavy songs that I’d play on a morning commute down I-295. The album as a whole is over an hour and a half long, but Djo masterfully weaves the songs together in a way that makes listening to The Crux Deluxe less of a song-by-song affair, and more of a musical-range rollercoaster that you’ll want to ride over and over.
