George Miller (commonly referred to by his stage name, "Joji") is a Japanese-Australian singer/songwriter who originally got his start on YouTube as the infamous Filthy Frank. That went on for a while, until the channel finally shut down in late 2017 due to his health problems as a result of playing the character for so long. After Filthy Frank/Pink Guy died, and following a few well-received singled, Joji was officially born with the release of his 2017 EP In Tongues under the 88rising label. It was pretty good. I loved the slow, sad vibes that all of the songs gave off, especially "Will He". After this dropped, fans eagerly awaited his next projects, which we got on October 26th of 2018 with the release of BALLADS 1. Yes, it is stylized in all caps like that, as are all of the track names. I have no idea why, but I'm just gonna roll with it. What you expect from the title is exactly what you get: An album full of ballads, 12 to be exact. Given the "1" that was tagged on, I'm assuming we'll be getting a BALLADS 2 at some point. Until that happens, if that happens, I'm gonna go deeper into this album and see if it lives up to all the hype.
Track #1: "Attention"
First things first, the instrumental is absolutely incredible. It's soft, it's low, it features a lot of piano. There's a nice balance of digital music and instrument music in this track. I love it. That is, until roughly 1:04 in. Then the beat suddenly gets a bass-boost for no good reason and it hurts your ears. It doesn't happen for that long, thankfully, but it's still extremely jarring. Another thing I don't really care much for with this song is Joji's vocal performance on it. He sounds uninterested in what he's saying, which really doesn't fit with the lyrics in my opinion. Now, don't get me wrong, Joji has a great voice. Just listen to "Demons" off of In Tongues, or "Fried Noodles" off of Pink Season, and you'll hear that Joji has a very good singing voice. It just doesn't work with this song, is all I'm saying. But the lyrics are great. I really like the story Joji is trying to tell with the songwriting here, especially with the second verse. The theme of being misunderstood is a common theme you'll find in music, but this song is a prime example of when that theme can work well. Overall, this is a mixed bag of a song, and not a very strong start to the album, but it isn't bad.
Track #2: "Slow Dancing in the Dark"
Now here we go. This is a great song. I think this is some of Joji's best work throughout his entire career so far. The beat is very soothing at first, but slowly builds up as it works its way to the chorus, and then explodes into this downright awesome piece of music. Joji's voice has the same uninterested sound that it did in "Attention", but it sounds 10x better here for whatever reason. Probably because he's able to enunciate the words better due to how much longer the song is. But he sounds good here, especially on the chorus. My God, what a chorus that was. He hits notes here that I honestly didn't think he could, which proves that doing the Frank voice hasn't killed his vocal chords. I promise, that's the last time I'm gonna mention Frank. It's great to hear him exploring his higher register, and it sounds gorgeous when he belts out "DAAAAAAARK". The songwriting has also greatly taken a step up from "Attention". Yeah, a lot of it is repeated it as the song goes along, but it's such interesting imagery that you don't really notice it. The only complaint I have, and it's a minor one, but the clash of lead and backup vocals in the verses makes it sound slightly autotuned. Maybe it is, I don't know, but it kinda sticks out. This is a great song in every other aspect, though. Great job, Joji. Very solid work.
Track #3: "Test Drive"
Overall, this is a good song. Not the best on the record, but not the worst. The beat, like in "Attention", features a solid mix of digital and instrument music that is really easy to jam out to. It sounds really cool. As does Joji's voice, 95% of the time. The chorus sounds clear and clean, and the verses flow well and have a catchy melody. Now, the pre-chorus has Joji sing in his falsetto. In "Slow Dancing in the Dark", his falsetto sounded great and fit the mood of the song. In this song, not so much. The falsetto section in "Test Drive" sounds out of place and really hurts the ears. It sounds autotuned at times, very noticeably so, but, because it doesn't happen a lot, it doesn't kill the flow of the song. Not too badly at least. Any traction the song loses with the pre-chorus is almost immediately picked back up when the chorus hits, so there's no actual harm done. The songwriting is okay for the most part. A few wonky lines, aside, it's passable. I enjoyed this song in all the other aspects, though. The final product comes together nicely, warts and all. I have no idea what the music video means, though. I would show you, but this website won't let me.
Track #4: "Wanted U"
Another mixed bag of a song. It isn't bad, it's just strange. The music starts off rather awkwardly, but quickly transitions into a much better-sounding, very soothing electric guitar riff that I really like. Joji's voice sounds slightly pained, but overall just okay, in the verses. It once again uses his falsetto, but it does it in a way that somehow combines the way it sounded in "Test Drive" and "Slow Dancing in the Dark" to create this intriguing sound that I didn't know his voice could produce. I can't say it sounds bad, cause it doesn't. It's an okay sound. The chorus, on the other hand, that sounds great. He's hitting high notes, but it doesn't sound like it's hurting him. It sounds natural and smooth. I also really enjoy the echo effect that was put on his voice, major props to whoever thought of that. The songwriting is easily the best part of the track. It gives nice imagery and good vibes. But, overall, this song is just okay. I dunno why, but this song just didn't grab me like the others did. It's the weakest track so far, but it's still passable.
Track #5: "Can't Get Over You (ft Claims Casino)"
I don't know who Claims Casino is, since Joji is the only one who sings in it. Maybe he helped produced it? Again, I don't know. But it isn't important. What is important, is the song. I'm not gonna lie, I wasn't feeling it. The beat is nice, I like the piano part. It sounds like something that would fit in a Wii Sports sequel, but it's a nice sound. And the writing is decent on this track. Good imagery, and it tells an easy-to-follow story. I'm sorry to say, however, but the song falls apart in every other aspect. Joji's vocals have that same weird hybrid sound that I described when I went over "Wanted U", but it doesn't sound very good in this track. And the lyrics don't really flow that well in my opinion. One thing this song does have going for it is the music video. I'm actually able to show you the video for this one, unlike with "Test Drive" and "Slow Dancing in the Dark". I won't give away what happens, but it's really funny. Some of Joji's men are armed with various fictional weapons, such as Lucille, an Energy Sword, and a Keyblade. Watch it for yourself and see what all you can spot. Or not. It's up to you.
Track #7: "Yeah Right"
This is another all-around good one. The beat is catchy, and sometimes gives off "Will He" vibes in the way that it's produced. Joji's voice sounds good and the writing is solid for the most part. There were a few somewhat off lines here and there ("Yeah, you dance so good/And I think that'd kinda neat" is one that comes to mind), but it does its job well almost everywhere else. This song's story goes down a path that I don't think we've heard in a Joji song before: A love song in which the female is a psychopath! It's a rather nice change of pace, since we usually get sad breakup songs from him. Still a little bit on the strange side, however. But, in this case, it's passable, since it sounds lovely. I like this song a lot. It's good. I don't have much to say about it, and I'm sorry about that. It's just good.
Track #7: "Why Am I Still in LA? (ft Shlohmo & D33J)"
I'm gonna assume that the two features are producers or guest writers, cause, like "Can't Get Over You", Joji is the only one we hear singing. Weirdly titled, but that doesn't really matter. This song is good. I love the slow, almost lullaby-esque instrumental. It's really soothing, and Joji's vocals work wonders for it. This song is sung entirely in his falsetto, and it never once became grating to my ears. It fits together beautifully. That is, until about 1:03 in when the instrumental suddenly becomes this loud, siren-esque noise that is absolutely not needed. It goes on for way too long and it's so painful to listen to. When it finally stops and the song goes back to normal just in time for the second verse, it feels like a weight has been lifted off of your shoulders. I don't understand why it's in the song, it would've been just fine without it. I'm sorry to keep harping on it. It's just awful. Apart from that, though, this is great song. The music, the vocals, and the lyrics all come together nicely to bring us a solid track.
Track #8: "No Fun"
The title is a lie, this song is a lot of fun! Who knew a song about fake friends could be this catchy? Seriously, the first line of the first verse, while vulgar, was really effective in getting across the tone of the song. I know it wasn't supposed to be funny, but it kinda was. The way he delivered the line was great. I also like the beat for this track a lot. It sounds like a tune you'd hear at a carnival, and I mean that in the best of ways. This is the most upbeat song on the album so far, and yet the lyrics are some of the saddest. Some people find fault in clashes like that, but I love it. I like when sad lyrics or a dark story is told in a happy instrumental. For example, "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" by Tears for Fears does this style very well (it's one of my favorite songs), and this song does it nicely as well. Yeah, they lyrics are cliche, save for one or two actually kinda creative lines given what kind of song this is, but it's just so catchy that you don't really notice. Except for the "my cover's blown" chant. That was a weird phrase to repeat over and over again. Other than that, this was a nice song. I liked it.
Track #9: "Come Thru"
Wow, there's a lot of falsetto in this album, isn't there? This song features more of it, but it isn't bad in this case. It really sounds autotuned sometimes, even more so than the others times, but it still sounds nice. This song feels very short for some reason. It lasts for 2:33, so it isn't the shortest track on the album ("Can't Get Over You" is"), but it sure felt like it. Probably because there's just one verse and two chorusus. The chorus comes first, then the verse, then the chorus happens again, this time repeated twice. That's it. Song over. I don't mind this, though. Not every song has to be big and epic. I liked the lyrics for this one. Good imagery, save for a weird reference here or there. Could've gone without the ABBA line, personally. But this was a decent song. I don't really have a lot to say about it, probably cause it didn't leave much of an impact on me. But I enjoyed it.
Track #10: "R.I.P. (ft Trippie Redd)"
Okay, so Trippie Redd has a good voice. I didn't know who he was until I heard this song, but I liked what I heard of him. I'm probably not gonna spring to buy an album of his, but I liked what I heard. As for the rest of the song, though, I'm gonna have to take back something I said earlier. "Wanted U" is not the weakest track on this record. "R.I.P." is. But let's start with the positives: I like the beat, the chorus is well-written, the vocals are pretty good, and I like the even balance between Joji and Trippie Red. One doesn't overpower the other, it's nice. In every other aspect, though, I found this song to be very boring. I understand the message. It's about being so in love with someone that you'd die for them. I know this because Trippie says that over and over again, to the point where it becomes annoying. Like, that's basically all that Trippie's sections amount to. "I would die for you", repeated about 20 times. His voice aside, it's not a very good first impression for an artist I previously hadn't heard of. Based on the title, I thought it'd be Joji paying tribute to XXXTentacion, or Lil Peep, or someone else that passed away, but no. It's just a cliche love song. Next.
Track #11: "XNXX"
So, weirdly, for this song, Throw The Harpoon didn't have any videos on this song in the "add a YouTube video" feature. Even though videos of it do indeed exist on YouTube. Because of this, you can listen to the instrumental during this section. Here's a link to the video, cause I really didn't feel like downloading it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBUnToeuY18. I don't know if that's gonna work. If not, then YouTube is your friend. Anyway, back to the song itself. I like it. It's catchy, it flows well, it has a chilled out vibe to it, as does most of Joji's music. Again, it feels like it goes by way too quickly (probably because it's just over 2 minutes even), but I don't mind the quickness because of how catchy it is. In terms of vocal performances, this is a highlight. Joji's voice shines in this song. And the writing is good as well, safe for a few hiccups. One example is Joji saying "Girl, why don't you just stay" and then following it up with "It's better if you stay away". Pick one, man, it isn't that hard. But, yeah, joking aside, this is a good one.
Track #12: "I'll See You in 40"
Here we are, the last track of the album. The song to close off BALLADS 1. In some respects, it does it nicely. In others, not so much. The song starts with this awful bagpipe-esque noise that goes on for 48 seconds (I timed it). When the ukulele starts, it becomes slightly more bearable, but not by much. And the effect put on Joji's voice in this intro really doesn't help. If it weren't for the ukulele part, I'd call it unbearable to listen to. It almost is regardless, the more that I think about it, but I'm gonna grit my teeth and just be thankful that the bagpipe sound doesn't come back after the intro ends. Once the verse kicks in, however, I'm proud to say that the song starts to really pick up. It's well-written, it's well-sung, and the shift in the tone is the beat is very welcome. The chorus is some of the best work Joji has ever made. I'm serious, it's that good. And then the song has to go and mess it all up with the outro. The beat goes back to the intro sound, thankfully without the bagpipes (I know that it isn't actually a bagpipe, but it sounds so annoying that I'm gonna call it bagpipes). The intro's ukulele part kicks back in, but so does that awful effect that was put on Joji's voice. In the beginning and the ending, it's the some of worst parts of the album, but, in the middle, it's the some of the best. I don't understand how that's possible, but I ultimately can't call it a bad song.
BALLADS 1 is a good followup to In Tongues, but I can't call it a better project. Don't get me wrong, I liked this album. It has more good songs than bad, and one or two legitimately great songs. The highlights, to me, are "Slow Dancing in the Dark" and 95% of "Why Am I Still in LA?" That being, in the longrun, I personally feel like I'm gonna remember In Tongues more than this record. It has more songs that resonate with me than this one did. Now, that's not to say that BALLADS 1 isn't worth the money. It is. It's an overall good album, and I do recommend it. I'm gonna give BALLADS 1 a solid 7. It has a lot more good in it than bad. It's not the best, but I do like it. Longtime fans of his will, too, but newcomers might not enjoy all it. Looking forward to BALLADS 2.
