“The Maybe Man” is the newest hit by alterative pop band AJR with 12 songs. It is an ethereal and flowing album with a large emphasis on growing up thrown into the lyrics and tune. The songs in the album are “Hole in the Bottom of My Brain,” “2085,” “Maybe Man,” “God is Really Real,” “The Dumb Song,” “I Won’t,” “The DJ Is Crying for Help,” “Turning Out Pt. III,” “Steve’s Going to London,” “Inertia,” “Yes I’m A Mess,” and “Touchy Feely Fool.” While this has been one of their best albums yet, it still shows how much the band has room to improve. With some of the highest highs and lowest lows, this album is one of AJR’s best albums yet.

The namesake of the album is one of the best songs in it with its overall lass synthetic feel, a problem the band has struggled with over many of their songs, and its intriguing lyrics that can connect to just about anyone. A great example of this relation to almost anyone is in the song “Maybe Man,” where in the beginning of the song when AJR says, “Wish I was a stone, so I couldn’t feel, you’d yell in my face, it’d be no big deal. But I’d miss the way we make up and smile. Don’t wanna be stone, I changed my mind.” This lyric is referring to that feeling of wanting to be someone else if just for a little bit, but also how even if something seems perfect, it’s probably not by saying as good as it is to be a rock, think of the things you are missing out on. There are also fewer out of place sound effects and random lower and higher pitches than most songs they have released.

While there are some great songs, there were plenty of others that did not quite reach standards such as “Jack Goes to London,” which is just a weak song with lyrics that basically admit they are filler as evidenced when it says, “There’s a song that don’t mean anything at all

And it sounds like,” the song then proceeds to go into the chorus. Another song that could be better is “The DJ is Crying for Help.” This song would be really good if they put more emphasis on the violin instead of the weird and swelling digital brass. A person could also argue that “Yes I’m a Mess,” a song about being a mess, is all over the place in terms of beat and rhythm. “Touchy Feely Fool” is also a bit of a flop with similar problems to the other songs mentioned.

All in all, this album is very much an improvement over the previous few albums. There are lots of good songs, and a few bad ones. They have a concert on April 24 in Seattle at Lumen Field. It is worth a listen as it is free on Spotify.