''The Maybe Man'' is the fifth studio album by the American

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

trio

AJR is an American pop band founded by brothers Met (), collectively a trio of vocalists, , and songwriters. The brothers grew up in New York City, primarily focused on busking, singing covers and street tap dancing until shifting to songwriting ...

. It was released on November 10, 2023, following their previous studio album ''

OK Orchestra ''OK Orchestra'' (stylized in all uppercase), often abbreviated as ''OKO'', is the fourth studio album by American pop band AJR. It was released on March 26, 2021, by the band's own label AJR Productions. The album was supported by five singles ...

'' (2021). It is the band's first album released as part of its deal with Mercury/

Republic Records Republic Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). Based in New York City, it was founded by Avery Lipman and Monte Lipman as an independent label in 1995, and was acquired by UMG in 2000. Republic was initially ...

Promotion and release

In 2022, AJR embarked on a world tour in support of their fourth studio album ''OK Orchestra''. On the tour, they performed their then-unreleased song " I Won't" as a surprise addition to the set, before releasing it as the lead single for their upcoming fifth studio album on July 29, 2022. On November 12, 2022, AJR revealed the album title's abbreviation of "TMM", fitting into the pattern "T** M**** M**". Fans immediately started posting speculative potential titles on the internet; popular theories included "The Music Men", "Ten Meter Men", and "The Manly Men". The band released the album's second single " The DJ Is Crying for Help" on November 18. The third single " The Dumb Song" was released on April 21, 2023. Its music video was released the same day, detailing the song's year-and-a-half-long creation process. The fourth single, " God Is Really Real", was surprise-released as a music video on

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on July 3, 2023, along with a lyric video. While the song was originally set to be dropped along with the album, it was released much earlier than originally scheduled, in order to commemorate the life of their terminally ill father Gary. He died later that day. The single had an official release on July 5, 2023. On August 27, 2023, they posted the message "Enormous news tomorrow. maybe." to their social media accounts along with a previously unveiled logo featuring the "TMM" acronym. The album's full title and release date were announced the next day in a teaser video featuring the ending of the animated music video for the album's first track, " Maybe Man". The band revealed the track list and album cover on September 11. The fifth and final single, " Yes I'm a Mess", was released on September 29, 2023. A comedic music video, shot in

Times Square Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and Neighborhoods in New York City, neighborhood in the Midtown Manhattan section of New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway (Manhattan), ...

, was released on October 25. On October 11, AJR announced that ''The Maybe Man'' would be delayed exactly one week from its original release date, due to "exciting opportunities" relating to the album release. The album was then released on November 10 alongside a music video for "Maybe Man". On November 29, a music video for "

Inertia Inertia is the natural tendency of objects in motion to stay in motion and objects at rest to stay at rest, unless a force causes the velocity to change. It is one of the fundamental principles in classical physics, and described by Isaac Newto ...

", the 5th song on the album, was released. On January 23, 2024, a music video for "

Touchy Feely Fool "Touchy Feely Fool" is a song by American pop band AJR, appearing as the second track on their fifth studio album ''The Maybe Man''. Background Throughout August and September 2023, AJR posted production snippets of "Touchy Feely Fool", later se ...

", the 2nd song on the album, was released.

Songs and track listing

" Maybe Man", the album's first track, is a melancholy song with lyrics that interpolates with other songs, such as the line "''I wish I was big, as big as my house...''" interpolates with

's line "''Don't you like it bigger, better but you do what'cha can?''". "

" is an upbeat yet reflective track that touches on the awkwardness and vulnerability of emotions, describing a rough breakup. The album was supposed to have a thirteenth track, but it didn't make the album due to the song supposedly not fitting in with the rest of the album's theme. The brothers deemed the track too upbeat and positive for it to fit in perfectly with the rest of the songs. It is confirmed that this track will be released at some point in the future, likely within the potential deluxe version of the album that the brothers have also confirmed will come out in the future.

The Maybe Man Tour

On November 9, 2023, AJR announced their first arena tour to promote the album, most notably including two stops at

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. Tickets for the tour went on sale on November 17. On November 14, 2023, AJR announced a second show for Madison Square Garden in New York, due to the first show being sold out on the first day of presale. On February 13, 2024, the band announced that the supporting acts for the tour will be

Mxmtoon Maia (born July 9, 2000), known professionally as mxmtoon ( ), is an American singer-songwriter and YouTuber. Her music is characterized by emotionally transparent, confessional lyrics and often employs the ukulele. She released her first EP, ...

Dean Lewis Dean Lewis Grant Loaney (born 21 October 1987) is an Australian pop singer and songwriter, known professionally as Dean Lewis. Lewis is best known for his 2016 single "Waves (Dean Lewis song), Waves", which has been certified 7× platinum in Au ...

and

Almost Monday Almost Monday (stylized in all lowercase) is an American indie pop trio based in San Diego, California. Their debut extended play, ''Don't Say You're Ordinary'', was released on October 9, 2020, and followed by a second, ''Til the End of Time'', ...

. On April 1, 2024, AJR canceled the tour's first show due to the

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venue being too small to accommodate the show, announcing on April 11 that it was rescheduled to June 23. On April 2, 2024, due to high demand,

Idaho Central Arena Idaho Central Arena (originally Bank of America Centre, formerly Qwest Arena and CenturyLink Arena) is a multi-purpose arena in the western United States, located in Boise, Idaho. Its seating capacity is 5,002 for ice hockey, 5,300 for basketball ...

announced on their Instagram account that the Boise show would take place at

ExtraMile Arena ExtraMile Arena (formerly BSU Pavilion and Taco Bell Arena) is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the western United States, on the campus of Boise State University in Boise, Idaho. It is located on the east end of campus, between West Campus L ...

. The previously purchased tickets for Idaho Central Arena was shifted towards the newer venue ensuring that the tickets were still valid. On July 8, the concert scheduled to take place at

Toyota Center Toyota Center is an indoor arena located in Houston, Texas, United States. It is named after the Japanese automobile manufacturer Toyota. The arena is home to the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA), and it was once th ...

the next day was canceled due to the safety concerns surrounding

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. As of August 2024, the tour has reportedly sold over 500,000 tickets. On August 8, Adam Met announced that he would not be performing with the band for the Asia shows to attend the

2024 Democratic National Convention The 2024 Democratic National Convention was a United States presidential nominating convention, presidential nominating convention in which delegates of the Democratic Party (United States), United States Democratic Party voted on their party ...

in Chicago. The August 17, 2024 Osaka concert is the only concert of the tour to be performed in the afternoon (local time of where the concert was happening.)

Tour dates

Festivals

Set list

# “ Maybe Man” # “ Sober Up” # “ Yes I’m A Mess” # “ I Won’t /

Birthday Party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often feature ...

” # “ The DJ Is Crying For Help” # “ God Is Really Real” # “ The Good Part” # “ Bang!” # “

” # “

Karma Karma (, from , ; ) is an ancient Indian concept that refers to an action, work, or deed, and its effect or consequences. In Indian religions, the term more specifically refers to a principle of cause and effect, often descriptively called ...

” # “Turning Out / Turning Out Pt. ii / Turning Out Pt. iii” # “ World’s Smallest Violin” # “Steve’s Going To London” # “ Burn The House Down” # How We Made / “

Way Less Sad "Way Less Sad" is a song by American pop band AJR. It was released on February 17, 2021, via the band's label AJR Productions and BMG. It was additionally released through S-Curve Records for radio airplay and through Black Butter Records for in ...

” # “ Don’t Throw Out My Legos ( The Dumb Song for certain shows in the second leg and venues where they played twice) # “

100 Bad Days "100 Bad Days" is a song by American pop band AJR. It was released on January 29, 2019 via S-Curve Records as the lead single from the band's third studio album '' Neotheater''. Background After AJR released their second studio album, '' The ...

”

Encore

# “Weak / 2085”

Alterations

* Due to

Adam Adam is the name given in Genesis 1–5 to the first human. Adam is the first human-being aware of God, and features as such in various belief systems (including Judaism, Christianity, Gnosticism and Islam). According to Christianity, Adam ...

not being present at the Seoul show and other reasons, the beginning of "The Maybe Man" , "God Is Really Real", and "2085" are cut. "Bang!" was moved to before "Weak" with the How We Made intro and "The Dumb Song" was played.

Reception

Much like the band's previous albums, ''The Maybe Man'' was released to mixed reviews. ''Spectrum Culture''s Thomas Stremfel criticized the album's lyricism, saying the album "barely scratch sthe surface of the emotional depth their songs could achieve while insisting their music is nothing to take seriously." Writing for ''

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

'', Matt Collar praised the album, writing, "With ''The Maybe Man'', AJR continue to turn their personal pain and anxieties into universally relatable pop anthems." ''

Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly ''Exclaim!'' print magazine publishes seven ...

'' listed the album cover as 17th worst of the year, writing: "You've entered a wormhole to 2008 — your only tools for survival are a moustache finger tattoo, a copy of Amélie, a voucher for free puppetry lessons and this album cover. Good luck."

Personnel

AJR * Adam Met – bass guitar, vocals * Jack Met – lead vocals (1–5, 7–12), guitar (tracks 2, 7, 10–12), drums (4 & 5), vocals * Ryan Met – lead vocals (6), vocals,

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stat ...

programming Program (American English; also Commonwealth English in terms of computer programming and related activities) or programme (Commonwealth English in all other meanings), programmer, or programming may refer to: Business and management * Program m ...

Technical * Dale Becker –

mastering engineer Mastering is a form of audio post production which is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the Audio mixing (recorded music), final mix to a data storage device called a master recording, the source ...

(1–3, 5–7, 9–12) *

Chris Gehringer Chris Gehringer (born May 27, 1962) is an American mastering engineer at Sterling Sound in New Jersey. Gehringer is known for having mastered recordings by popular artists such as AJR, Dua Lipa, Drake, Ed Sheeran, Gwen Stefani, Harry Styles, ...

– mastering engineer (4, 8) * Joe Zook –

mixing engineer A mixing engineer (or simply mix engineer) is responsible for combining ("mixing") different sonic elements of an auditory piece into a complete rendition (also known as "final mix" or "mixdown"), whether in music, film, or any other content of a ...

(1–3, 5–10, 12) * Rob Piccione –

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

(1, 3, 5, 7, 9–12) * Katie Harvey – assistant mastering engineer (1–3, 5–7, 9–12) * Noah McCorkle – assistant mastering engineer (1–3, 5–7, 9–12) * Brandon Hernandez – assistant mastering engineer (1, 2, 5–7, 9–12) Additional musicians * Rob Piccione – additional vocals (1), backing vocals (3, 8, 10), vocals (4, 5, 7, 9, 12), guitar (6) * Ruth Kornblatt-Stier –

cello The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...

(1, 5–7, 10–12) * Emelia Suljic – violin (1, 5–7, 10–12) * Arnetta Johnson – trumpet (1, 4, 10, 12) * Chris Berry – vocals (1), drums (4), backing vocals (8), cello (12) * Dane Hagen – vocals (1, 5), guitar (5), backing vocals (8) * Ezra Donellan – vocals (1, 5), backing vocals (3, 8, 10) * Austin Roa – vocals (1, 5, 12) * Josh Plotner –

woodwinds Woodwind instruments are a family of musical instruments within the greater category of wind instruments. Common examples include flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, and saxophone. There are two main types of woodwind instruments: flutes and re ...

(1) *

The Beu Sisters The Beu Sisters are a pop-rock girl group from New Smyrna Beach, Florida, consisting of sisters Candice Beu (born 1975), Christie Beu (born 1978), Jiliane (born 1983), and Danielle Beu (born 1987). Originally from New York City, the sisters were ...

– backing vocals (3) * Kent Lucas – backing vocals (3), vocals (7) * Ryan Chernin – backing vocals (3, 10) * Chloe Brettholtz – additional vocals (4) * Andrew Sobelsohn – guitar, vocals (4); backing vocals (8) * Martin Lieberman – vocals (4), backing vocals (8) * Cat Capps – vocals (4), additional vocals (5), backing vocals (8) * Alba Avoricani – vocals (4), backing vocals (8) * Honore Balan – vocals (4) * Nell Balan – vocals (4) * Ariel Gendler – vocals (5), backing vocals (8) * Jabari Golding – vocals (5, 12) * Zachary Murphy – vocals (7, 9) * Benjamin Hostetler – vocals (7, 9) * Eugene Mahlstadt – vocals (7) * Katrina Udle – vocals (7) * Natasha Bermudez – vocals (7) * Adam Tomlinson – backing vocals, vocals (10) * Amanda Wierbowski – backing vocals (10) * Eric Holloway – vocals (10) * Naia Lika – additional vocals (12) * Daniel Cruz – vocals (12) * Robert Hanley – vocals (12) * Kevin Grammar – vocals (12) * Jiliane Russo – vocals (12) * Sarah Piccione – vocals (12)

Charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maybe Man 2023 albums AJR albums Mercury Records albums Republic Records albums