Joe Keery Trades ‘Stranger Things’ For Existential Ponderings on ‘DECIDE’
The “Stranger Things” star trades in his acting career for his alter ego, Djo.
(Michael Hickey via Getty Images)
The breakout star of the hit Netflix show ‘’Stranger Things,’’ Joe Keery, recently released his sophomore album under the pseudonym Djo.
Djo follows up on 2019’s “Twenty/Twenty” with “DECIDE.” The project implements lo-fi and new wave sounds from “Twenty/Twenty” while breaking away from heavily psychedelic elements in exchange for exploring experimental sounds. Existential themes are recurring in his catalog and are even more evident in “DECIDE,” — which he created during the pandemic.
He documents creatively through music the topics of figuring out one’s self as he struggles with fame due to his role as fan-favorite character Steve Harrington in “Stranger Things,” in addition to critiquing social media’s dominance in the world, his relationships, and struggles with insecurities.
Djo promoted the album through eerily stimulating and vivid visuals on Instagram. In the short videos, he sports a short brown shaggy wig, a large fake mustache, black wayfarer sunglasses, and various suits in a series of short mock infomercials, prompting fans to call the number “928-8-DECIDE” for one to “Get the enlightenment you need to make the decisions you deserve.”
Djo released the first single, “Change,” in June. With this track, our protagonist struggles with change. He wants to be the ideal man not only for his partner but also for the world. He acknowledges how it was his mistakes that led him to feel disconnected. He wanted to be nonchalant and passive in his relationships. He realized how he had changed and then felt relieved that he had found the right one to make him examine himself and change to become a better man.
“DECIDE” is available via AWAL.