Fans of the alternative pop rock band AJR have been eagerly waiting for the band to drop a new single from their much anticipated fifth studio album since first teasing the new song in January 2023. The group unveiled what could be the third pre-album single; it is titled “The Dumb Song” and joins I Won’t and The DJ is Crying for Help as singles assumed to be on their upcoming album. The name of their fifth album has yet to be announced to the public, but fans hungry for info do have the records abbreviation, it is TMM.
As for “The Dumb Song,” let’s break down the single and the tracks music video because oh gosh; it is really good and deserves some hype.
AJR Show Fans Just How Long it Can Take to Write a Song
The day before “The Dumb Song” was released the band shared one final teaser before its midnight release on Thursday, April 20, 2023. In the teaser clip the group shared across social media, it was hinted at the band documented the entire year-and-half-long process of creating this one single song. The trio has been known for their popular tour docs shot and edited by their tour photographer Austin Roa. It was not badly educated guess that the group would be uploading a similar songwriting doc on YouTube.
However, the documentary footage that was captured was the music video itself! This is such a fun, creative, and original idea for a music video. Throughout the entire music video, there are on-screen captions with fun facts. Watching the video felt like watching an extended version of a TikTok, Instagram Reel, or another short-form video. Speaking of short-form videos, there are some parts of the song that are screaming potential viral hits on social media.
Music videos should tell a story, and this did just that in such a modern way. You can watch the video below or visit YouTube on your smart TV for the full experience.
About “The Dumb Song”
This song title is pretty uncommon for AJR because this is one of, if not their first song to not actually say the exact name within the song. Ryan, Jack, and Adam Met did a good job of creating something fresh, but not straying too far from the unique sound fans have come to expect when listening to an AJR song.
In true AJR fashion, they threw in a few completely relatable lyrics, aimed to normalize taboo topics, and of course a bit of politics. After releasing a song like “3 O’clock Things” the group proved they are not afraid to get political with their lyrics.
Another fun part within the song features a highly autotuned voice saying “You should not have done that!” I thought this was a member of the band’s voice. In reality, it was one of their friend seven-year-old’s daughter. Such a fun tidbit, it feels almost a bit unexpected where the part is in the song, which leads me to believe the trio has big plans for a live rendition of “The Dumb Song”, it will undoubtingly be big, probably cut to black, and then some light explosion with smoke.
Overall this song is very fun and gave fans just enough of a taste to continue hyping up the new album and leave the fanbase hungry for more new music. While at the same time, “The Dumb Song” did not give away too much, avoiding spoiling the unknown that a new record provides.
