''Neotheater'' is the third studio album by American

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' (G ...

band AJR. It was released on April 26, 2019, by the band's label AJR Productions. The album was self-produced by the trio.

Background and release

The 12 tracks were collectively described as "a coming of age tale that hears the band coming to terms with the sacrifices that come with growing older now that they are in their 20s". A description of the album also stated: "The buoyant and uplifting music is juxtaposed with darker lyrical narratives that touch on anxiety, naivete and searching for integrity." This album contained two official singles, and two promotional singles. AJR released the lead single "100 Bad Days" on January 29, 2019. They also released two promotional singles "Birthday Party" on March 12, 2019, and "Dear Winter" on April 5, 2019. "Dear Winter" was later released as the second official single on August 19, 2019. On October 25, 2019 they released "Dear Winter 2.0," an alternate version of the original song with added instruments.

Commercial performance

''Neotheater'' debuted at number eight on the US ''Billboard'' 200 with 32,000

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s (of which 22,000 were pure album sales). It is AJR's highest-peaking and first US top 10 album.

Critical reception

The album received favorable to mixed reviews. Rolling Stone wrote in par, citing the bubbly tracks stepped in light orchestration, crisp hooks, and the social commentary, while AllMusic says that the album is "never less than refreshing".

Track listing

All tracks are written by Jack Met and Ryan Met. All tracks are produced by Ryan Met. Notes * "Birthday Party" features a sample of the song " In Heaven", written by Peter Ivers and

David Lynch David Keith Lynch (born January 20, 1946) is an American filmmaker, visual artist and actor. A recipient of an Academy Honorary Award in 2019, Lynch has received three Academy Award nominations for Best Director, and the César Award for Be ...

and performed by Laurel Near in the 1977 film ''

Eraserhead ''Eraserhead'' is a 1977 American surrealist horror film written, directed, produced, and edited by David Lynch. Lynch also created its score and sound design, which included pieces by a variety of other musicians. Shot in black and white, it ...

''. *Ryan Met is credited with writing two of the songs on this album by himself. One of those songs is "Dear Winter". Jack Met further discusses the origins of this song at 18:30 - 22:37 of source 7.

Personnel

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes. AJR * Adam Met – vocals, bass guitar, programming, samples, percussion * Jack Met – lead vocals, guitar, melodica, ukulele, drums, percussion, keyboards, synthesizers, samples, programming, trumpet, composition * Ryan Met – vocals, programming, keyboards, ukulele, trumpet, production, composition Additional personnel *Daniel Rosenfeld – audio editing, composing *Maikel Valdama – audio editing, mixing * Drew Allsbrook – bass guitar * Chris Berry – drums * Chris Cerrato – design * Ezra Donellan – vocals * Samia Finnerty – vocals *

Chris Gehringer Chris Gehringer (born May 27, 1962) is an American mastering engineer, known for having mastered recordings such as Gwen Stefani's '' Love. Angel. Music. Baby.'' (2004), Rihanna's '' Loud'' (2010), Lady Gaga's '' Born This Way'' (2011) and Drake' ...

– mastering * JJ Kirkpatrick – trumpet * Ruth Kornblatt-Stier – cello * Emelia Suljic – violin * Joe Zook – mixing

Background and release

Commercial performance

Critical reception

Track listing

Personnel

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References