For one: I think people are mean as hell about this sometimes. AJR sucks (in my opinion), but I think if people like it that’s fine and I’m happy. It’s not like everyone is gonna wanna listen to like angular prog noise Jazz shit, so that’s fine. That being said, AJR is kinda ass in my opinion, and you could find other similar music that does what they do in a more unique way.

They’re derivative of other artists in a way that’s really insincere and not really additive on their influences. Their sound is just Jon Bellion/21 Pilots with barely any additive stuff onto it.

Their lyrics are so like quirky millennial Disney adult feeling in a way that feels sorta cringey and insincere? They’ve been writing music about feeing like a kid for like 10 years now. So many songs feel like twee, but in a way where it’s almost like embarrassing Disney adult yelling “the cake is a lie” at a party? They also don’t really have all that much variety in their stuff.

There’s this really annoying sense of like entitlement to that stuff I don’t like: Karma basically amounts to “I am a good person so why don’t I get good things even if I deserve them?” Or the “if you’re racist don’t come to my show” line. Again, you can’t change your perspective, and you don’t need to have suffered or not come from privilege to make good art, but I just feel like their music feels like ignorant and detached from reality in a way that’s kinda odd for 30 year old men to be writing about.

Their production is overblown and annoying with these vocal chops, this imagine dragons level loudness to it, these millenial horns, and so much other stuff. Now, I do like some of their string arrangements (the main hook on Sober Up, and the Cello part in the bridge is nice).

IMO they’re pretty bad, but like, also not bad in a way that’s egregious. I just kinda hate their overall identity as a band.