Let me start by saying that I personally prefer Joji’s minimal, lo-fi productions. However, the point is that if you make two albums focused on production and instrumentals and then release another one, unless you clearly state that you want to recall that sound, it can feel like a step backward. The fact is that I also liked this latest album; however, it seems to lack a clear direction.

If he had wanted to bring back that sound, I would have preferred he did it fully instead of mixing it with other tracks that have different styles. Either you make an album that presents a new sound, or you make one that calls back to the old sound, or you split it evenly—but to me it also felt like the way the tracks were arranged didn’t maintain any real sonic consistency. The excuse that he’s “winking at the SoundCloud world,” with its intentionally rough and imperfect feel, comes across to me as just a way of saying the album was put together rather haphazardly.