I listened to the new AJR album 

Brad is absolutely high. This album is pure beauty. Which I've come to expect from AJR. Still love ya though, Brad! 😊

Every AJR song sounds like it's supposed to end with fireworks

i would like to personally thank AJR for the conception of the mr krabs soundbyte

AJR’s sound feels like a time capsule of that 2010-2012 era where Millennial quirky indie folk and alt rock was really big. I’m not saying I hate it, but that’s what the sound and vocals remind me of. It’s very much reminiscent of a particular era in the same way that grunge or hair metal evokes a certain period of time. AJR’s music is to my brain what fat free popcorn is to my stomach. Light, dissolvable, not quite filling.

Brad just cause ajr hate themseleves now doesnt mean you can hate ajr 😔

Once again let's be honest, we all knew Brad was going to hate this album.

Boogie2988's self-loathing put to Imagine Dragons

I actually actively watch Brad on albums I know I'll disagree on so I can practice having my own opinion despite reviews and critics.

Thank you so much for the disclaimer at the beginning of the video brad. I genuinely don't understand how someone can review something in good conscious without listening to it.

AJR is the musician equivalent of Disney adults

It's kinda like transforming "middle class sheltered kid"-branded social anxiety into superficial pop songs. It's comforting in a sense because of how easily you can relate and their sound is easy to listen to. The subjects they tackle are somewhat interesting but they do it in a way that just comes off as annoying/insincere, yet at the same time you can't help but feel like they're trying. Anyways I can understand why people would enjoy them, idk if it's necessarily an age bracket kind of thing even though it does sound like something a teenager would eventually grow out of (no shade though).

the constant random swearing on a lot of the songs is also such a mood killer lol

Apparently Brads fanbase constitutes the whole AJR fanbase too

If this album was called “The man who may Be a Butterfly” it would be a 10

You’re laughing, he couldn’t work the microwave and you’re laughing

brads channel is amazing, you have fans and haters of AJR coexisting and peacefully discussing it 😂

AJR is like if Pixar and Tally Hall had a child but they drank and did drugs the whole 9 months of pregnancy

My biggest gripe with AJR is how they wear all their trauma, grief, pain and sadness like it’s an article of clothing.

I loved this album sm and I’m an AJR fan, I also love Brad. I respect your opinions on this album even if I don’t agree with them. Defintely their best album yet and defintely my favorite album of the year.

AJR is in that special class of music where I literally cannot access the frame of mind necessary to enjoy them. I am completely incapable of understanding the appeal at all, they just present ideas musically and lyrically that make me feel so embarrassed when I hear them, I wish I could be more measured and give them whatever credit they might be due, but they seem to appeal specifically to emotions that I have literally never experienced.

the reason the dumb song is listenable is because it's a Suddenly Ska moment. nothing is better than a Suddenly Ska moment

brad got them “we are now in cruising altitude” headphones

watched this high and got scared at 22:47 felt like he was speaking directly to me

Why do the best headphones have to look so dorky

15:08 Proof that AJR can write The Sound of Silence but Simon & Garfunkel couldn't write Touchy Feely Fool to save their life

First time ever hearing AJR. It really just sounds like Fun. at home

Is the hole in the bottom of my brain supposed to be... a hole in the bottom of the sea reference...? The veggie tales song?? It has such a similar melody and the way he just keeps adding more stuff to the chorus each time he sings it feels like too much of a coincidence to me

"I wish I was gay" 😂

56:42 there I am Gary, there I am! But to reiterate and expand on what I was trying to say before, I think God is Really Real is one of the few tracks where AJR's lyrical bluntness actually works more in favor of the song rather than against it (though the social commentary lines suck hard). The cursing to me actually delivers some impact here compared to when it's used in other AJR songs, as losing loved ones often comes with an inability to properly articulate emotions. Adding in unnecessary "fucks" into the song feels like they're mad, but don't know how or where to direct their anger. But I do agree that AJR trying to fit such a personal and emotionally driven event into a pretty generic sad song lessens the impact of it a lot.

Joking aside, I genuinely don't understand why AJR is so successful, I don't know if his fans live in a completely different context than mine or there is something I'm missing. I guess this touches the hearts of some select group idk

I've been an AJR fan for quite some time, and honestly understand the hate they've recieved due to their simplistic, sometimes so inoffensive it FEELS offensive-type lyrics and of course their wobly, eccentric musical input. However, I like those things about them, and kinda expected people like Brad to hate these aspects (and ofc the new album). But just cuz others hate it DOESN'T MEAN YOU SHOULD BECAUSE OF THEIR OPINIONS. I may find your takes annoying Brad, but your content continues to amuse me. Love ya! Edit: I'm very disappointed in my fandom for throwing blame at Brad for people disliking AJR albums on a stupid website. Even I can admit AJR isn't growing all that much and people need to stop saying things like "Bro really gave a bad rating on AJR's dad's death." People like this are ticking me off, especially on AOTY. Brad has been steering his community away from irrationally hating AJR and their fans, the least we can do is respect his opinions and LEAVE. HIM. ALONE. He's just a guy giving his two cents on an album you either like or don't like. Grow up.

I hadn't heard of AJR until I saw Brad's reviews of them , thought 'ehhh Brad clearly doesn't like it but that's not too bad actually' and really ended up enjoying listening to this album by myself

the thing about ajr's lyricism is that they will use a literary device (e.g. a metaphor) and then proceed to explain the metaphor in detail to you in the following lyrics. it's very infantilizing, and rips away any of the possible subtext their songs could have.

Damn those headphones are intricate. Looks like you have a saw trap on your head

10:06 Bro I thought he said "gay" too and I laughed so hard Both words work either way, which makes even funnier

Brad turns on chat and the first thing I see is “worse than 9/11” 💀

The AJR experience: "Alright, this song already sounds like ass. Actually, you know what? Maybe I judged it too early-HUDNFINFVOMFVFDM WHAT THE HELL IS THIS!? EWWWWWW!"

It's like when pet dogs who have wanted for nothing their entire lives sit in the floor repeatedly sighing

you're one of a kind, brad, we can find nobody else like you, yeah EDIT: also, "the shape of punk to come" is an absolute masterpiece

i like usage of weird sounds in songs. some of my favorite songs are experimental and may sound annoying to others to a degree. but something about the way AJR does it feels generic at the same time. every song has the same vibe and it doesn't use its weirdness properly. its out of place and feels disingenuous. im sure there is emotion behind their songs, i just dont feel it.

Why all their album covers look like the ai Disney posters?

MAn, when Brad was talking about the first AJR album, born and bred, I thought he was saying "born inbred".

I just wanna make one comment on God is really real. I think it's the only time social commentary might work on this album. Tbh I didn't get it until life struck but I think the point they're trying to make is "Oh look the world keeps on turning, things keep on moving...but my dad just died" I think they're trying to pose the question "how the heck do I keep up with the world when the person I love most isn't around anymore?"

I'm a huge AJR fan, and I absolutely love this album. But I respect and understand that you personally don't. I'm just glad you gave them a fair shot and weren't so horribly cruel to them and the album, and encouraged your fans to listen to it themselves and not review bomb it because of your opinion. Even though people probably still will (and have, I think), it's at least good to know you don't condone any of that. And while I obviously don't agree with your points, I do understand them and can see where you come from. Was a fun review, and I got to be there live partially, lol

This album is very AJR core

While AJR may be improving in sound and quality, I highly doubt that I'll ever live to see the day that they'll write actual good lyrics

41:32 the thneedville comparison was wildddd

wow his criticism on those last two tracks was spot on and perfectly described the band’s main issue

I woke the wife up with this thing earlier today and now my penance is listening to Javelin 3 times.

As a complete outsider to AJR, their music sounds like it's for children or people with extreme arrested development. They take anything they want to say and boil it down to the understanding of a 15 year old theater kid. It's the music made by and for people who've never actually experienced any real aspects of life so they have to frame "The Real World" like they do in children's movies or shows for anything to make sense. Even while expressing deep grief about the potential loss of their father gets put through a perspective that reminds me of a kid in a Disney movie. The emotions that people say are here are the empty hollow versions of them that these adults who've never had to worry about anything in their lives can gather via the children's media they consumed as kids. This might sound really mean, but this is what honest criticism is. Asking someone who takes music seriously to turn their brain off or to not think too deep about it don't even know what the definition of "criticism" is. It's incredibly frustrating to see people giving you a hard time about not liking this bc you use your brain.

I personally thought this was their best album yet, despite it not being too different from OK Orchestra and honestly most of their previous works. But idk, their sound is addictive and catchy and it’s some of my last remaining guilty pleasure pop reminiscent of the later 2010s. I don’t expect Brad to ever like their work but I kinda got burned out of being affected by it after the Neotheater review. Their sound is strangely as niche as it is accessible and idk I find it kinda neat. Personally rate the album a 7/10, def worth at least one listen.

DJ KHALED

I can’t believe this is the band people throw themselves at to defend??? Like??? Are we hearing the same music???

after i heard the first minute of the album i was like "yeah, brad's gonna hate this"

Brad spoke PERFECTLY what I also feel with projects like this: if I have to turn off my brain to enjoy a song, that's a clear sign that something is wrong. If you can enjoy songs by amplifying your existence in that moment and receiving all that's there, why would you settle for songs that you have to turn off?

i absolutely understand not liking this album. it definitely could be seen as basic lyrics attempting to seem deep, however, i find it relatable and i think the lyrics simplicity and lack of nuance in and of itself is what i see is something i can see in myself bc well, i definitely dont know how to express it lol. i dont want to rant, but the childish and dumbed down lyrics are what makes it kinda good imo

Mom doesn't let me stay out past 6pm type music

The Dumb Song is like if AJR went ska, which would probably make for a way better album of stuff like that

“1, 2, PANDEMONIUM!!” 🤓🤓

honestly even though I don’t like their music at all AJR fans have proven to be consistently the most polite people in your comment sections, i feel bad trashing too hard on the music because their fans are genuinely such nice people it kinda baffles me

Brad using 3k dollar headphones on Spotify is like using a hydrogen bomb on a coughing baby, please for the love of god at least get Tidal, you will get so much more out of your headphones

Hi Brad, listen to "Cálice - Chico Buarque", it was made during the 78's of Brazil, a time of oppression and corruption. You'll love it since you really liked "Construção".

I’ve been enjoying the album for the past day, so it’s super fun to watch it get absolutely decimated, because some of the criticism is actually fair, especially how it sounds similar to Shake It Off and Scaled And Icy. My top 3 is Inertia, Steve’s Going To London, 2085. The album as a whole actually made me feel hopeful as I have been down the depressing TOP rabbit hole for several months

it’s not that bad tbh, it’s just like, “why would i listen to this?”

I have to imaging AJR's target audience are considered the "edgy" teens at Sunday school and has Live, Laugh, Love decor

You know after all this time, I'm starting to get the feeling that Brad maybe doesn't enjoy AJR music 🤔🤔🤔

Reading through this comment section is a test of self-restraint.

As much as I don't agree with this, I gotta respect it. Also, I was not expecting this album to make Brad this mad lol

Honestly, it's albums like this that people use as benchmarks in musical history, and it just happens to be fantastically enjoyable as well. 4/10

Gotta love how the first song is literally ABCDEFU chords and melody

WE JUMPING OUT THE WINDOW WITH THIS ONE 🗣️🗣️

We getting out of the pandemonium with this one

The doomer era of ajr is somehow even worse than any other era

AJR seem like nice people, like I genuinely don’t think anyone could hate them if they got to know them AS PEOPLE, but their music genuinely baffles me in its appeal and popularity. I’m not even a Billie Eilish fan but she is able to convey the same emotions AJR desperately tries to in a much more mature, focused and far less cringe inducing way than these guys and she’s like 10 years younger than them…

“don’t review things bad brad cuz people might agree” lol

I'm convinced brad loves torturing himself 🤣

AJR sounds like they still have the emotional and mental maturity of 18 year olds

Oh my gosh, Brad, play that back

Brad looks like a fucking transformer wiht those headphones on lol

I think where The Maybe Man and A Moon Shaped Pool differ is authenticity. AJR just aren't able to immerse themselves in the character they're writing. Rather than allowing the audience to engage with negative emotions in a safe environment, they instead force these negative emotions onto their audience by talking down to them, and fail to forge any sort of connection with their audience. Like a lecture from an apathetic teacher, their philosophising more comes off like an obligation they're begrudgingly fulfilling, rather than a genuine attempt at changing your perspective on an issue.

There's a hole in the bottom of my brain There's a hole in the bottom of my brain There's a hole There's a hole There's a hole in the bottom of my brain

the swans reference in the middle of the dumb song caught me so offguard help me

chat was awful today, im glad this vod showcased the funny parts !

> $3000 headphones > uses spotify

I love how this comment section is just AJR fans and haters debating whether this album is good or not. (my opinion: love it)

I have no idea wtf it is yall find "relatable" about this mindless, soulless drivel 🤣

ajr is the "clapping when the plane lands" of music

There's a hole There's a hole There's a hole in the bottom of the sea

I can’t believe people on AOTY were giving this 100

19:41 not gonna lie, the 2x speed is a banger.

i wouldn't even mind the shitty lyrics if the MUSIC was good, but it's not even ENJOYABLE as an instrumental! like lyrics are the least important thing to me 80% of the time but wow adding them up with the awful instrumental is a disaster.

Ohhh boy the comments on Brad's review on album of the year are something. Some guy got so mad he started giving all of Brad's songs a 0 lmafo. All rated today.

Idk what's worse. The fact that this album is considered their best work or the people who think Brad is too dumb to comprehend bad music

AJR is the equivalent of a Caucasian man showing you a video of Fireworks on his Iphone 8

I'm an AJR fan but I totally respect your opinions on it. I feel it's important to hear both sides and not just have a war about it. I also really respect your passion of rating songs and stuff

My opinion, from someone who’s basically on the other end of the spectrum (a die-hard AJR fan), I absolutely love this album and pretty much every thing AJR has ever done. I respect your opinion though obviously, and it makes sense you don’t like them if you don’t like this kind of music. I personally relate to a lot of AJR’s lyrics, and I love their sound very much. Anyway, I won’t rant about it 🫠

Hey @bradtasteinmusicofficial Im a big AJR fan and I very much disagree with your video. I loved it though because it has given a chance to think and type out a lot of thoughts on this album. With that being said im going to go through each song and tell you how i interpret the meaning to maybe help argue why people who enjoy AJR enjoy AJR. DISCLAIMER I AM NOT TRYING TO FORCE YOU TO LIKE AJR I AM MERELY GIVING A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE. Maybe Man: This song is about Jack having a bunch of different thoughts and solutions to his issues only to realize that they wont work after thinking about it. In the end the thoughts spill over and theres too much in his head to form a coherent thought anymore (1, 2, pandemonium). Also each stanza is a nod to each song in the album so it also acts as a table of contents for the rest of the album. Touchy Feely Fool: This song is about being stuck in something you know you should distance yourself from but you cant. This could be a toxic relationship, friendship, or anything you have the ability to leave but cant or wont. This song doesnt have too much to say about it but i think the ending is it slowing down with these worries about being stuck and just thinking that someday he will be able to leave/move on. Yes I’m a Mess: This song acts as a sequel to Touchy Feely Fool since they go into each other pretty seamlessly. This song is about wasting your life away to forget about all the problems going on instead of facing whats actually happening. This being said it is one of my least favorite songs AJR has made (since Living Room). A lot of people liked it but i wasnt HUGE on it, i still like it but i do tend to skip it. The Dumb Song: This song is kinda a “Hate letter” about jack having big dreams but people keep telling him it will never happen, He’s to dumb to do it. An example of this can be found in lyrics like “Honey, it's no big deal We'll get you back to college, you could study somethin' real” and “You make my lunch today I would do it, but I couldn't work my microwave” he's saying that he would do all these things people are asking him but like they say hes “too dumb”. Inertia: Im not going to say a lot because you were spot on with what it was about. Jack wants to do stuff to help world/big issues but he cant because he feels stuck and small in the world so it would be too hard. The metaphor of wanting to be big as his house comes in here because he wants to be big enough to help but hes just tiny and mad. Turning Out Pt III: This song doesnt do it for me i dont really get it, i was never huge onf the turning out trilogy so yeah this one is pretty literal witht he lyrics and doesnt hit me the same way the rest of the album does. HITBOMB: you were pretty spot on in these lyrics as well. HITBOMB is about having a little empty space and filling with temporary fixes so no matter how far he goes its still there. The DJ is Crying For Help: this song is about wasting your “Glory Days” too long adn wanting to start your life too late and you cant get on to your feet.i always felt like this song didnt go anywhere but i think that was the point still doesnt land like i thing they wanted it to. I still enjoy it its just not their best. I Won’t: This is supposed to be the “Dance Song” of the album its about getting influenced by advertising while performing live. I dont really know how to word my interpretation of it but i love this song. Sorry that i cant really say much about it. Steve’s Going to London: This song is about being an artist. More specifically writing meaningful music in a market oversaturated with meaningless music. I LOVE this song and its one of my favorite AJR songs. The struggles of writing music is difficult for Jack in a world full of music that just has nonsense lyrics. The song that means nothing is the chorus not the whole song. God is Really Real: Im not gonna commentate on this one, its pretty self-explanatory and doesn't need me to talk on. 2085: This song is what the entire album has lead to, it talks about having all the experienc of the album later in life. Growing old and growing with experience. Then it transitions to the ending the changes into the continuation of the opening song starting where the last one cut off. Saying that now after reflecting through life (the album) Jack finally knows who he is. So yeah thats what i think of the album. Again not trying to make you like it just trying to show you why other people like it. Anyway… so… hows your day going…

Brad with this headache core again

AJR is the emoji movie of music

Imagine my disappointment when I search up blur’s inertia on Spotify but instead AJR’s thing comes up