At a time when we’re worrying about toxic masculinity, AJR seem like jolly nice chaps.
New York brothers Adam, Jack and Ryan Met are ex-buskers making the kind of shiny, indelibly catchy pop-rock that the American charts tend to categorise as “alternative”.
Think Twenty One Pilots, Walk the Moon or a chirpier Imagine Dragons – Imagine Squirrels, perhaps. Their breakthrough single from 2013, I’m Ready, sampled SpongeBob SquarePants and was as irritating as that implies.
Their biggest song to date, on 46 million YouTube views and 375 million Spotify streams, is called Weak and asks, “What’s wrong with that?” On Burn the House Down, with its digitised horns and rubbery bass, they sound less like the perpetrators and more like the first in line to help with the clear up.
Now they’re plotting to crack the UK, with a small show at the Garage in Highbury next week and a new single, 100 Bad Days, which is about the fact that surviving your worst moments makes you more interesting at parties.
It’s upbeat, optimistic and a perfect fit for anyone in need of cheering up this month.
Feb 13, The Garage, N5. thegarage.london
