AJR’S New Album: The Maybe Man (TMM)

this isn't TOTTALLLYY finished i'm gonna edit it to include my analysis of more songs.

At the end of November, AJR released their first album since 2021. For context, AJR is an American Indie-Pop band, made up of three brothers, whose names are Adam, Jack, and Ryan Met. They’ve been making music since 2005, and some of their more recognizable/popular songs are ‘Bang!’, ‘Burn the House Down’, and ‘World’s Smallest Violin’. The new album, which is the band’s fifth studio album, was called ‘The Maybe Man’, or ‘TMM’. According to their lead singer, Jack Met, TMM is their most ‘emotionally involved album so far’. The album contains topics of self-exploration and the idea of fitting in. In Ryan Met’s description of the album, he says  “The album is a real self-exploration kinda journey, it’s very much about like ‘who am I? Am I a different person with you, or you, or you? And what does that leave me with?’” In this review, I will analyze the meaning behind nine of the songs on the album.

The first song on the album is called ‘The Maybe Man’, which sets the mood for the whole album. It uses some lyrics from themes surrounding other songs on the album, but the lyrics themselves weren’t used in those songs. With 12 total verses that more and more quickly build up until Jack Met is screaming in a frustrated need to be understood and a triumphant outro at the end of it all, the song is filled with emotion, as is the rest of the album. Each of the verses subtly references one of the album’s songs, and there is a theory that one of the verses is from a scrapped thirteenth track, but that the ‘pandemonium’ conclusion is meant to reference “Maybe Man” itself. This song is charged with raw emotion and a whole lot of questioning oneself. AJR considers wide arrays of options to fit in, be liked, and find their purpose by changing over time. 

The second song is called ‘Touchy Feely Fool’. It explores the complexities of an abusive and one-sided relationship. The lyrics show an emotional struggle and their inability to break free from a toxic connection, especially in the following quote. “But, hey, what can you do? | I'm a touchy-feely fool | I would give anything to not give a sh*t | About you.” The chorus of the song expresses a yearning for the future, wishing that one day they will be able to look back on this situation and laugh. The lyrics also show awareness of their feelings. They apologize for not being able to see how they are being taken advantage of or manipulated, reflecting a sense of naivety or vulnerability. 

The third song, which is called ‘Yes I’m A Mess”,  revels in the feeling one would get on a night out. When they’re drinking and confident and living in the moment, saying all the things they want to and doing what they want, they’re not worried about the stress of life or trying to live “right”.  This ties in with the idea of just wanting to leave all the crazy behind and start fresh, which is referenced in a song in their previous album called ‘Adventure is Out There’. That song references running away and changing your name, which is similar in topic to this song. The lyrics in that song say “I could change address and try another state | I could change my name, it won’t do anything.” Which tie in with this song, wanting to ‘start fresh’ and leave everything behind.. However, after all that, the song then references how it’s a temporary feeling. The lyric “I could hate my guts when the sun comes up” encompasses the feeling of realizing the mistakes they made while drinking and feeling almost ‘manic’. 

‘The Dumb Song’, which is the fourth song on the album, is written from the point of view of someone with lots of self-doubt, constantly calling themself dumb based on the way other people treat them and interact with them. The person being referenced in the song is said to have a disorder, which is most likely referring to Jack Met, who suffers from OCD. The song talks about how being called the "dumbest person" someone has ever seen actually makes them feel liberated. It also talks about the narrator's ability, or, rather, a lack thereof, to focus on important matters and being scatterbrained, mentioning Adderall and his inability to use his microwave. The lyrics also talk about a need to break up with someone but being ‘too dumb’ to do it the ‘right’ way, so they just text instead. The chorus puts emphasis on  the refrain "Don't look at me, don't look at me, I'm just too dumb," suggesting that the narrator is embracing their lack of intelligence and doesn't want to be judged for it.

The fifth song on the album is called ‘Inertia’. Inertia is written about the narrator feeling ‘stuck’ or ‘stagnant’ in their life, and feeling unable to create meaningful change. Inertia, as a scientific concept, references an object’s resistance to movement and change in motion,  which is a metaphor for resistance to change from the narrator’s point of view. The song references times where there is a lack of change, where the inertia metaphor comes into play, such as the lyric ‘I’ve worn the same skinny jeans since I was 15’, or ‘My friends say they’re quitting this week, to chase down their dreams, they’re probably bluffing’. The first lyric suggests a lack of growth or change, and the second lyric alludes to the same pattern in those around the narrator. The pre-chorus talks about wanting ‘bigger and better’ things but feeling stuck and unable to reach such goals. The line ‘I was gonna save the planet but today I’ve got plans’ demonstrates this concept. The chorus talks about the feeling of being a metaphorical ‘object in motion’, and having a lack of genuine emotion. It symbolizes going through the ‘motions’ of life without a sense of purpose. The line "My two legs are broken, but look at me dance" implies a facade of happiness or contentment despite inner struggles, which is ‘masking’. The song is very reminiscent of their 2019 album ‘Neotheater’. It’s very upbeat compared to the song that follows it.

The sixth song on the album, ‘Turning Out Pt. iii”, is one of the most emotionally vulnerable songs on the album, and is sung by Ryan Met instead of Jack Met. Most of the band’s songs are sung by Jack, however, 2/3 parts of Turning Out are sung by Ryan. Ryan almost completely spirals as the song continues, overcome with anxiety and flipping between wanting to get married, have kids, and buy a house instantaneously, or whether the pair of partners should just ‘call it a day’ and split up. He’s struck with a longing to figure out why everyone else has their life figured out except him, but eventually, at the end of the song, his thoughts quiet for a conclusion where he recognizes taking things one day at a time and appreciating the people in his life is an ideal way to turn out.

The seventh song on the album, which is called ‘Hole in the Bottom of My Brain’, depicts a narrative about internal struggles and external validations within the life of the narrator. The "hole in the bottom of my brain" is to symbolize a ‘void’ or, rather, an insecurity that multiple different short-term fixes such as partying, social media likes, and societal expectations, seem to temporarily fill. It’s a reference to short-term validation and temporary dopamine caused by social media. The chorus shows a clear want to ‘just get by’ and present a mask of being fine. The narrator, Jack, talks about how ‘there’s a hole in the bottom of his brain’, and when ‘he gets famous’ or when ‘you love/like him’, the hole goes away. The last lyrics demonstrate somewhat of a self-awareness for his issue with validation, where Jack says “I know I’m alone”. This shows that he’s aware of the problem, and doesn’t seem to want to fix it.

The eighth song on the album, which is called ‘The DJ is Crying for Help’, seems to be about feeling overwhelmed and ‘not enough’ as the narrator gets older. The ‘DJ’ is stuck in a cycle of feeling like he's behind in life and is trying to find his place in the world. It talks about how everyone else seems to be growing up, but the ‘DJ’ can’t figure out how to grow up and be like everyone else. It goes into the idea of 

The ninth song on the album is ‘I Won’t’. This song is about not conforming to that of those around you-- “I must’ve missed the hype, but maybe that’s the way I feel.” and “I’m not here ‘cause you say so,” are two lyrics that demonstrate the non-conformity of the song perfectly. It’s about the narrator (Jack Met) being tired of trying to fit in and just ‘doing his own thing’.