The music centers around a few different things. Overall, Joji has put together a very good album that explored his themes of love and longing, as well as the underlying sense of unhappiness that can infect our lives. It feels out of place until the end when the backing track leaves and we hear Joji and a distorted version of his voice plead and reassure that вЂњIвЂ™ll be/Your man.вЂќ On the surface, it feels simple but when combined with the rest of the album, you can feel a sense of longing in those words. вЂњYour ManвЂќ is an uptempo dance song about telling someone youвЂ™ll be there for them after a breakup. But Joji finishes with an optimistic one. It is heart-wrenching and deeply bittersweet and feels like sadness captured in song. The penultimate track вЂњLike You DoвЂќ is a quiet piano ballad about feeling so deeply in love with someone and knowing that it just cannot last. A perfect representation of the themes of this album. The uncomfortable rising of the deep synth drone feels like you are drowning, and the groove implies this idea that you can feel great and be deeply unhappy at the same time. Whether this is about sex or drugs, this track feels powerful for all the right reasons. Joji and Yves sing about how you do things and feel like youвЂ™re drowning, but itвЂ™s alright if it makes you feel alright. вЂњReanimatorвЂќ experiments even more with the sound, building a dark intense synth sound up and then backing down, eventually settling on a nice groove. The music feels intense, almost like he has been waiting forever to say this and leave the relationship. вЂњ777вЂќ picks up the pace, exploring being fed up with a relationship that is going nowhere and wanting something more real.

He explores the idea of wanting to just be there in love, even if things are so different. HollywoodвЂќ explores feeling different after gaining fame. He wants her to shine and be happy but doesnвЂ™t want to be with her anymore, content with being a вЂњbeautiful afterthought.вЂќ Especially after the upbeat song вЂњPretty Boy.вЂќ He gets more melancholy with the intensely real track вЂњAfterthought,вЂќ an emotional ballad about not wanting to be with someone but cherishing the times you had, specifically with a girl who he has left.

Over every song he returns to this idea, but nowhere does it feel as real as this.

Joji drops the entire act on вЂњNormal People,вЂќ a quiet subdued lo-fi track about pretending to be normal. The music is an upbeat trap groove, juxtaposing the lyrics perfectly. He builds into this, saying that she loves him on the surface, leading directly into вЂњPretty Boy,вЂќ a song about how he puts on a face not just for the media but for everyone in his life. This all builds to вЂњHigh HopesвЂќ and вЂњNITROUSвЂќ which feel like opposite themes from the optimistic вЂњSanctuary.вЂќ Joji sings about wanting this girl to love him and how she seems so cold to him. вЂњSanctuaryвЂќ especially is a huge tone shift, being a sweet love song about feeling a real connection with someone beyond the surface level. вЂњSanctuaryвЂќ and вЂњGimme LoveвЂќ experiment with a lighter tone вЂ“ something that isnвЂ™t seen a lot on вЂњBALLADS 1,вЂќ JojiвЂ™s previous album. The singles really shine here, with вЂњRunвЂќ being an intense, emotional number with a screaming electric guitar solo at the end. These themes of bittersweet love repeat a lot on the album, being explored in вЂњMODUS,вЂќ вЂњTick Tock,вЂќ вЂњDaylightвЂќ and every track up to вЂњPretty Boy.вЂќ вЂњEwвЂќ explores feelings of being left behind by someone he loves and wanting to feel like he is enough. вЂњNectarвЂќ opens with a Joji classic вЂ“ light piano and his wonderful falsetto.

Joji nectar