Critiqued by Zach “I Promise I’ll Shut Up About Joji Now, Kaillee” Dalton
Come with me for a bit to the way back to the past September 25th. The clock strikes midnight as I frantically refresh my Spotify. I take to Twitter and search my feed for an announcement. Finally, I find the tweet: “#NECTAR OUT NOW ON ALL PLATFORMS 88rising.lnk.to/Nectar” from Joji (@sushitrash). I click the link and my Spotify opens with Joji’s red and black face looking at me. I hit play and let the album run.
Nectar is the second studio album from artist Joji, following his 2018 album Ballads 1. Over the year break between albums, he released singles that were built into Nectar. Those singles, however, only make up four of the eighteen tracks featured on the album. Since this is an opinion page I will go ahead and state: yes, I really enjoy Joji’s stuff and yes, I really enjoyed this album.
Nectar focuses heavily on being a very beat-centric album. Most of the songs feature at least a 10-second musical intro. When his vocals come in, his lyrics are formed to complement the beats, like most music, but Joji’s vocals are almost lower than the beat to be sure they are highlighted. This comes as no surprise because Joji said in an interview with Forbes about his love for trap music. Although, I would argue Nectar features some more experimental beats and leans more toward lo-fi territory.
In terms of lyrics, most of the songs talk about love and intimacy not seen before. Take “MODUS” for example, the song is bass-heavy as Joji sings about not being strong enough for someone. The balance of positive lyrics, like those found in “Your Man,” “Sanctuary,” and “Gimme Love,” against more negative, longing lyrics found in “Like You Do,” “Ew,” and “Afterthought” helps elevate the emotions found in the album.
Overall, Nectar is quickly climbing the ranks of album charts. Joji found himself at #2 of Spotify’s Weekly Top Albums. I would describe Nectar as a good album to listen to just around the house or if you are up late working on some homework. My chief complaint with the album is the features. They were not terrible, but I feel like Joji has enough going for himself both in his beats, vocals, and lyrics to carry an album by himself. You can stream Nectar on most of the major streaming services. Once you are done with that go check out his other stuff like Ballads 1 or In Tongues.
