Hurst Hot Take: ‘Come Hang Out’ with indi-pop band AJR

By Isabella Lee Staff writer

My music taste can vary; if I find a song I like, my first instinct is to play it a billion times in a row until I get sick of it.

Among my favorite music groups over the years have been Maroon 5, Fall Out Boy, Panic! At The Disco and Imagine Dragons.

However, one group that has taken a grip on my life since right before my freshman year is AJR.

AJR consists of three brothers: Adam, Jack and Ryan, hence the group’s name.

The group started making music in 2005, when Jack, the youngest, was just eight years old.

They have so far released four albums: “Living Room” in 2015, “The Click” in 2017, “Neotheater” in 2019 and “OK Orchestra” in 2021.

Most of their songs are pretty catchy and they had a few very popular one’s a few years ago including “Bang,” “Way Less Sad,” “World’s Smallest Violin” and “Weak.”

“World’s Smallest Violin” became a popular TikTok sound, so I am sure that you have heard it at least once before.

They have announced a new album slated to come out this year, but nothing is known about it besides that the initials are “TMM.”

My friend from high school introduced me to this group. He and I have similar music tastes when it comes to groups, so I was introduced to AJR not long after “Neotheater” was released.

In the past and since then, when he has recommended mu- sic groups for me, he tends to suggest specific songs from each album that the music group has. However, with AJR, my friend told me to listen to their songs. So, being a good friend, I did just that.

This ended up being one of the greatest decisions of my life regarding music choices.

I almost instantly fell in love with AJR’s music, much to the joy of my friend, and once I joined Mercyhurst’s campus, I found more AJR fans, which made me extremely happy.

I even managed to convert a couple of my friends into AJR fans.

AJR has collaborated with various artists, including Weezer, Rivers Cuomo (the frontman of Weezer), Ingrid Michaelson, Hayley Kiyoko, Quinn XCII,

Steve Aoki and Daisy the Great.

Their one song with Daisy the Great is called “Record Player” and it is one of those songs that will get stuck in your head if you listened to it just one time.

While I have not listened to all of these collaborations, I can confirm that the majority that I have listened to are pretty great.

I have found out from my friends in MAC/SAC and MSG that AJR has consistently been on the list of SpringFest artists to consider for a good five years now, so I can only hope they can grace our campus at some point.

I highly suggest you do if you haven’t listened to AJR. They have a unique sense of style, to the point that I see them nominated for all sorts of categories for awards, including rock, pop, indie and electronic.

Their music is chill, yet powerful, so if you are looking to switch up the music that you are listening to, I highly suggest checking them out.

I love this band, and I’m almost certain you would too.

Keep an eye out for what is next for AJR, including their upcoming album that should be released by the end of the year.