It isn’t often where I find artists that genuinely care about the process of creating a cohesive project true to who they are. AJ.XO is certainly the exception, as he just came through with his masterful project, AS YOU ARE.

Every song on this has its own unique flavor and experiments with R&B and pop throughout. It is hard to put him in a box, as he is able to take various inspirations from different genres to fuse them into his own sound. “AS YOU ARE” is a perfect entrance into his sonic world with watery keys that sounds like a soundtrack to a fairytale world. His vocals are crisp as ever on this track and gives us a teaser of what is to come.

“find things” is a more uptempo track with a hypnotizing synth in the background underneath these groovy drums. His delivery is so simple, yet brings out plenty of emotion, and his genuine songwriting pushes that forward. I love the different direction he takes with “monster,” as it is full of lustful guitars, a euphoric vibe, and languid vocals. Another striking moment in this project is the outro, “faded (waiting),” which is layered with shadowy guitars and gentle singing that sends me off wanting more.

AJ.XO has a creative spark that more artists need to tap into. Each song has its own personality, and I think his career is going to last a long time because of his uniqueness. Keep an eye out for AJ.XO as he continues to grow this year.

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