From Hawkins to Headliner
Joe Keery could have just been “that guy from Stranger Things” forever, but Djo keeps refusing to sit still. Earlier this year, he gave us The Crux, a record so slick and strange it wormed its way into our Best of 2025 lists. And now, without warning, he’s back with a full companion album: The Crux Deluxe, 12 more songs that expand his psychedelic pop universe into something even stranger, softer, and more self-assured.
If The Crux was the bright, dizzying hotel lobby, The Crux Deluxe feels like slipping down the candlelit hallways at night, where secrets live, voices echo, and the carpets get a little too Lynchian if you look too long.
Remembering Laneway
We caught Djo earlier this year at Laneway Festival, and the man had the Perth crowd locked in his grip. Keery’s a performer who sweats weirdness and joy in equal measure. That live energy bleeds straight into The Crux Deluxe. Listening feels like reliving those swirling synths under a hot Aussie sun, only now they’ve been draped in velvet and served with a sly grin.
Deluxe Doesn’t Mean Leftovers
Here’s what makes this drop exciting: these aren’t B-sides. Written during The Crux sessions and polished up this year, these tracks stand tall on their own.
Highlights:
- ‘Mr. Mountebank’ — the sly, theatrical centrepiece.
- ‘Awake’ — fragile but expansive, a late-night gut punch.
- ‘Carry The Name’ — a melodic ache that lingers like perfume on an old shirt.
Across the record, Keery and longtime collaborator Adam Thein lean into lush guitars and ’60s/’70s flourishes, with nods to ELO, McCartney, and flashes of new wave oddness. It’s retro without being pastiche, psychedelic without being indulgent — basically, Djo doing what he does best.
The Hotel Stays Open
Conceptually, Keery keeps circling back to the Crux Hotel — the metaphorical space where guests arrive at emotional crossroads. If The Crux was about heartbreak and dissolution, this deluxe feels like the bleary-eyed resilience that follows. It’s not just “more tracks” — it’s the other half of the same dream.
What’s Next for Djo
- The Crux Deluxe is out now on AWAL — stream it, buy it, eat it alive.
- Touring the world with Post Animal as his backing band. Most dates? Already sold out.
- $1 from each U.S. ticket goes to Ally Coalition, so you’re feeding your ears and doing good.
- And, oh yeah — he’s about to wrap up his little side gig on Stranger Things.
TL;DR
- Djo (aka Joe Keery) surprise-drops The Crux Deluxe, a 12-track companion to The Crux
- Think: Rubber Soul weirdness, velvet psychedelia, 60s guitars with 2025 shimmer
- Features new single ‘Mr. Mountebank’ plus gems like ‘Awake’ and ‘Carry The Name’
- We last saw him bring the house down at Laneway Festival in Perth; this record feels like the afterparty
- Stream/buy at djomusic.com
Stay unruly.
