With a whopping twelve new tracks we have to ask the question, does Joe Keery even sleep?

Let’s face it, most special editions of albums are a bit rubbish. If you are lucky you get one decent new track and a couple of live-versions, or a few sub-par B-sides. It all feels like a way to fleece a few hundred more vinyl sales out of the hardcore faithful and keep the album going in pop-cultural conversations. This deluxe version of the very enjoyable Djo album The Crux is not like that. There is not one extra track, not even three… there are twelve new tracks!! Effectively a whole new album.

I am genuinely not sure what the thinking was here. It either speaks of remarkable confidence, in that he has EVEN BETTER material building up for a proper second album, or he wanted to get these out but didn’t fancy another promo tour given he is about to be everywhere for the press for the final season of Stranger Things. Either way, there is some excellent new material here. On the first listen my thoughts were that nothing matched up to ‘Basic Being Basic’ or ‘Delete Ya.’ However, after five listens, I have a new favourite Djo track and really enjoyed the rest of the tracks.

This collection really dives further into his love of 60’s and 70’s artists. Opening track ‘T.Rex Is Loud’ spells it out, as we are talking about the glam rockers here rather than the carnivorous dinosaur. It is a very decent start. ‘Love Can’t Break The Spell’ is gorgeous and full of powerful sentiments.

‘Mr. Mountebank’ has been released as a new single. It has a more modern sheen than most of these tracks due to copious amounts of autotune and a funkier underbelly. ‘Carry The Name’ is probably my new favourite Djo track. It takes Mott The Hoople’s version of ‘All The Young Dudes’ as a starting point, crossed with a hint of ELO or later stage Beatles. The end result is magic. ‘It’s Over’ carries on in the same world with a rich string section and top-notch melody and harmonies. Is that a sitar towards the end? Djo has a broad range of influences and understands how to walk in differing musical worlds.

The rest of the new tracks carry on with keen melodies, pleasant easy listening vibes and enjoyable homage to a golden age of music. Perhaps that is what it comes down to at the end of it, the lack of contemporary reference points makes this not commercial enough to be a new album. The record company not trusting that he can sell such a backward facing collection to a modern audience. Regardless, this is a very pleasant surprise and combined with the original collection of tracks makes for a strong, if not slightly eclectic, body of work. A Reading Festival appearance would go down very nicely next year.

Djo: The Crux