“Smithereens” by Joji: Long-awaited third album featuring hit song “Glimpse of Us”

Pop and R&B singer Joji released his heavily anticipated, third album “Smithereens” on Nov. 4.

It opens with his popular single “Glimpse of Us,” which is a dark love song with a deep meaning. Joji sings about how he was in love with his ex-partner and compares the relationship to his current one. He describes how he wants to relive feelings and moments with his new partner, for he cannot truly cut ties with the first.

“Feeling Like The End” describes the emotions and concerns he feels because of how much time, effort and love he has put into his relationship. He worries the relationship will come to an end soon.

Following is “Die For You,” a soft song with a great baseline and draws a parallel to the emotions he felt in “Glimpse of Us.” He is forcing himself to move on as many people do and wants her to be happy.

Then comes a melancholic song called “Before the Day is Over,” where Joji circles around in his current relationship because something feels wrong. In the song, Joji asks her what is going on with them while trying not to bug her. He feels there is something off between the two of them but feels stuck.

“Dissolve” is a song with a mix of autotune and guitar used to add to the lyrics about how Joji wants to know if his ex-girlfriend ever really loved him at all. He sings about how he wants to disappear and how he could.

Next is “Night Rider” which is a much more upbeat song that seems to describe how Joji wants adventures and excitement, but his girlfriend is hesitant the relationship will burnout and will both lose interest. “BLAHBLAHBLAH DEMO” has a major rhythm change halfway through the album and describes how Joji doesn’t want to age. If he grows older, he is worried the relationship will no longer work like he is trying to do.

The following song about the hurt of a relationship, “YUKON (INTERLUDE)” was used to tease the album’s release. He says “my eyes get low in that all-white truck, I can barely see” as he doesn’t care about driving and is focusing on his feelings.

“1AM Freestyle” a deep, short song closes out the album. I wish the song was longer because it has a great mix of music and vocals to solemnly wrap up the album.

No matter if you are heartbroken or happy in a relationship, this album has something for everyone. I recommend Joji’s older music as well.

For this album, I will go with my other top picks “1AM Freestyle,” “Die For You,” “Feeling Like the End,” and “Before the Day is Over” to recommend to others.