Lewiston, Maine, U.S.A. – With the date of the pop trio AJR’s fifth EP fast approaching, fans are getting excited, especially since the band gave them a taste of the album in the early release of the song “Betty.”
Listen to the author read this review:
“Betty” is the third track on What No One’s Thinking, their new EP due out Friday.
For those unfamiliar with AJR, they are an indie pop group that also incorporates electropop, alternative rock, and some theatrical elements to create their signature sound.
AJR was formed in 2005 by the three Met brothers, Adam, Jack, and Ryan. They were born and raised in New York City, and that is where they started their musical career.
They started as a small cover band, performing on the streets, either singing or tap dancing. During that time, they were known as TB3, or ‘Taping Brothers to the third power.’
What is surprising about “Betty” is the fact that it is one of AJR’s rare romance songs.
In “Betty,” the narrator feels unsure of whether ‘Betty’ is the one they want to be with forever, but feels pressured to put a ring on it. The narrator is explaining all this to Betty through text, but she is ghosting them.
For the actual sound, in the first verse, it goes from lots of drums and a lightweight, fluffy feeling to being slow and just having a little bit of piano in the pre-chorus. The chorus then keeps the slow, slightly sad mood, but picks the background sound back up again.
The fact that AJR can create so many feelings at the same time is amazing.
They make “Betty” feel both happy and sad, because on one hand, the sound itself is so happy, it’s like you’re dancing on clouds, but then when you hear the lyrics, you realize they are talking about how they’re unsure of the relationship.
Most of the lyrics are funny. In the pre-chorus after the second verse, there’s: “Don’t read my last two messages, I barely slept an hour.”
It’s funny because the narrator just sent a lot of important stuff and then was like, “Oh, whoops, I didn’t mean that, don’t read it!”
One beautiful thing about all of AJR’s music is that the Met brothers vowed to always write music about what they were feeling and thinking, so the songs are all honest topics. That means “Betty” is based on what one or two of the Met brothers is or was going through.
It’s remarkable that they are brave enough to be open about the reality of how they’re unsure if the relationship they are in is the one. Some people might just crack under the pressure, and just marry the person even when they don’t think they want to or think the person they’re with is the one and rush into it and then realize afterwards they weren’t and end up divorcing.
If “Betty” is anything like the rest of the EP, we will be in for a treat.
The other tracks in What No One’s Thinking are “The Plane That Never Lands,” “A Dog Song,” “I’m Sorry You Went Crazy” and “The Big Goodbye.”
Charlie Wallis-Martel is a Reporter with Youth Journalism International.
