“Smithereens” by Joji is his 3rd studio “album.” This “album” has themes of breakups, loss, moving on, recovery, etc. 

I looked it up and this being an actual album is up for interpretation. It has nine songs but it’s only 24 minutes and to be considered an album it needs to have at least seven songs and be at least 30 minutes. I’m gonna call this project an EP because that’s what it is. 

The genre of this EP is also up to interpretation: some consider it pop, others consider it alternative and most people consider it R&B, but personally, I consider this lo-fi hip-hop. The genre doesn’t matter: all you need to know is that this album has mostly electronically made music with lyrics sung by the voice of an angel. 

The “Smithereens” title, based on the context of the other songs in this EP, is most likely saying Joji’s heart has been blown into smithereens. There’s nothing left. Before I start talking about all the songs, I need to know, who hurt this man? I need to know who hurt this man so I can get with them and they can break my heart then I can make great (insert creative things I’m good at here). If you are the sole culprit, or you have a hand in playing the part of breaking this man’s heart, I have one thing to say to you … thank you. As a hurt gen-z I am so thankful this man had experienced real heart break to the point he channeled it into love loss music that I can sit in my room and cry to as I think about how great my life is and how my girlfriend loves me. It’s not fair. 

This EP starts with the first single “Glimpse of Us,” followed by  “Feeling LIke The End.” If “Glimpse of Us” is sitting in your room crying but slowly moving on then “Feeling Like The End” is knowing the relationship is over with the ignorance of thinking things will get better.

Nostalgia, what’s the big deal? Well let me tell you what the big deal about nostalgia is. As I mentioned before, I’m gen-z, I’m a “zoomer,” if you will. As a zoomer, I’m hurting because when I smell a crayon it makes me think of the good ol’ days when I would put glue on my hands and rub it in like soap until it ends up on the floor as dried crumbs. That’s nostalgia and the song on this EP that perfectly encapsulates this feeling is “Die For You.”

“Before The Day Is Over” is a song that actually has real instruments for … you people. This song is beautiful. Joji pours his heart out singing “let me in before the day is over,” hitting some low notes that he normally doesn’t go for. This song has a catchy chorus and is one of the hits on the EP. You’ll love it.

“Dissolve” and “NIGHT RIDER” are songs SoundCloud rappers aspire to make. By this I mean that they have great beats and only the hurt soul of a SoundCloud rapper can truly understand what I mean. 

“BLAHBLAHBLAH DEMO” sounds like a movie all in the span of 2 minutes and 22 seconds. The switch up on the end is, somehow, more simple than the rest of the songs but at the same time it has the most going on for it.

The second single “YUKON (INTERLUDE)” is exactly what an interlude feels like. Nostalgic, short, leaving me wanting more: I can’t stop singing it.

The last song of this EP sends us off with “1AM FREESTYLE.” You’re probably asking yourself, “why are all the songs on side B in all caps?” The second half of this EP is a switch up, making us think Joji is happy single but ends with us hearing a chorus of “I don’t wanna be alone.”

Joji is yet to release a bad project. He’s the biggest name in lo-fi and for good reason. I’d rank this project as his worst one but, really, all that is saying is that his first two albums are amazing. I will be buying this on vinyl if it ever gets released and you should definitely listen to this EP.