15 Songs Like Djo’s “End of Beginning”
If you love Djo’s “End of Beginning”, you’re probably looking for something very specific.
Not simply indie music.
Not simply synth-pop.
Something nostalgic.
Dreamy.
Melodic.
A song that sounds like remembering a version of yourself who no longer exists.
“End of Beginning” became one of the defining catalogue revivals of the 2020s. Originally released in 2022, it developed a huge audience through short-form video before reaching No. 1 in the UK in January 2026 following renewed attention around Stranger Things.
The song’s unusual success makes sense.
It combines an instantly recognisable melody with an emotion almost everybody understands.
Missing a place.
Missing a time.
Missing the person you used to be.
If you’re searching for songs with that same feeling, these fifteen are a good place to start.
What makes “End of Beginning” sound so nostalgic?
Djo is the musical project of actor and musician Joe Keery.
Before becoming famous through Stranger Things, Keery spent important years of his early adulthood in Chicago.
He played music.
Worked ordinary jobs.
Developed friendships.
Tried to establish himself.
Then his life changed dramatically.
“End of Beginning” looks backwards at that period.
Keery has explained that the song is about returning to a place that mattered deeply and recognising that your life has moved somewhere else.
You cannot become the old version of yourself again.
But you can remember them.
That’s the emotional territory connecting these recommendations.
1. M83 – Midnight City
One of the closest matches for atmosphere.
“Midnight City” combines enormous synthesizers with a feeling of urban nostalgia.
It’s brighter and more energetic than “End of Beginning”.
But both records create the sensation of remembering a city through music.
The difference?
Djo sounds like arriving somewhere familiar.
M83 sounds like driving through somewhere unfamiliar and falling in love with it.
2. The Strokes – Someday
A particularly good choice if the nostalgia is your favourite part.
“Someday” sounds like people reminiscing about their youth while they’re still young.
Julian Casablancas’ detached vocal gives the song a strangely bittersweet quality.
The guitar arrangement is much rougher than Djo’s production.
But emotionally, the records belong together.
Both are about time moving faster than you expected.
3. Dayglow – Can I Call You Tonight?
If you enjoy the combination of indie songwriting and warm electronic production, Dayglow is a natural next step.
“Can I Call You Tonight?” is bright, melodic and immediately accessible.
It has a similar bedroom-pop intimacy to parts of Djo’s catalogue.
The production sounds nostalgic without becoming completely retro.
This is probably one of the easiest transitions from “End of Beginning”.
4. Tame Impala – Borderline
Kevin Parker is an obvious influence to explore if you enjoy Djo.
Tame Impala’s music combines:
psychedelia
pop
electronic production
and groove.
“Borderline” is smoother and more rhythmically driven than “End of Beginning”.
But both recordings sound as though the past and present are overlapping.
Also try “Eventually” if you want something more emotionally intense.
5. The Killers – Read My Mind
This is for listeners who love the sense of growing up.
Brandon Flowers has an extraordinary ability to make suburban life sound cinematic.
“Read My Mind” feels full of ambition and nostalgia simultaneously.
The synthesizers are huge.
The melody is immediate.
The narrator sounds as though he is remembering a version of life that once seemed much simpler.
A very good companion to Djo.
6. Beach House – Space Song
For the dreamier side.
“Space Song” is slower and more atmospheric.
There is less conventional indie-rock energy.
More space.
More repetition.
More emotional ambiguity.
But it creates a similar sense of looking backwards at something that has disappeared.
If you love “End of Beginning” for its emotional atmosphere rather than its beat, explore Beach House.
Radar already has a dedicated “Space Song” explainer that would fit naturally here.
7. MGMT – Time to Pretend
This might be the most thematically interesting recommendation.
“Time to Pretend” imagines young musicians becoming enormous stars.
It mixes excitement with the knowledge that something will inevitably be lost.
That’s remarkably close to the emotional world behind Djo’s Chicago nostalgia.
The production is much more psychedelic.
But the emotional subject is related.
Youth.
Ambition.
Success.
Loss.
8. Phoenix – 1901
French indie-pop at its most immediately addictive.
“1901” contains bright synthesizers, sharp guitar and an enormous sense of momentum.
It’s less melancholic than “End of Beginning”.
But it fits naturally into a playlist of nostalgic late-2000s and early-2010s indie music.
If you’re looking for something that lifts the mood without leaving the sonic world completely, start here.
9. Gorillaz – On Melancholy Hill
A beautiful electronic-pop recording built around restraint.
Damon Albarn’s vocal feels distant and almost detached.
The melody is simple.
The synthesizers create enormous emotional space.
Like “End of Beginning”, it doesn’t need dramatic lyrical explanations to communicate nostalgia.
The atmosphere does much of the work.
10. Mac DeMarco – Chamber of Reflection
A natural recommendation for anyone drawn to Djo’s more psychedelic production.
“Chamber of Reflection” is slower and more minimal.
But the repeated synthesizer figure creates a similar feeling of emotional distance.
Radar has already explored the track’s connection with Japanese musician Shigeo Sekito.
That makes it another excellent rabbit hole rather than just a song recommendation.
11. Wallows – Are You Bored Yet?
A particularly accessible indie-pop recommendation.
The song, featuring Clairo, combines conversational vocals with a clean, memorable arrangement.
It’s more directly concerned with uncertainty inside a relationship.
But the production shares Djo’s interest in making modern indie music feel warm and familiar.
If you enjoy the approachable side of “End of Beginning”, Wallows are worth investigating.
12. The Midnight – Sunset
Now move further into nostalgic synth music.
The Midnight deliberately draw from 1980s pop and electronic production.
“Sunset” sounds enormous.
Synthesizers.
Atmosphere.
Romantic melancholy.
It is more obviously retro than Djo.
But if “End of Beginning” makes you want to drive through a city at night while thinking about 2017, this is probably the correct next song.
13. Japanese Breakfast – Be Sweet
Japanese Breakfast combines indie-pop songwriting with bright 1980s-influenced production.
“Be Sweet” is more energetic and danceable than Djo’s hit.
But both make nostalgia feel alive rather than simply sad.
This is also an excellent route into the wider Japanese Breakfast catalogue, which moves between dream-pop atmosphere and much more direct indie rock.
14. Current Joys – New Flesh
A darker recommendation.
“New Flesh” uses lo-fi production and intimate songwriting to create a very different kind of nostalgia.
It sounds less polished than Djo.
More fragile.
More isolated.
But the emotional effect is similar.
You’re listening to somebody processing the distance between what they feel now and what they remember.
15. Djo – Chateau (Feel Alright)
Don’t forget Djo himself.
“Chateau (Feel Alright)” is one of the clearest examples of Keery’s psychedelic influences.
The production is hazier.
The arrangement is more obviously connected with psych-pop.
If you arrived through “End of Beginning” and haven’t explored Djo’s earlier material, start here before disappearing into recommendations for twenty other artists.
What genre is “End of Beginning”?
Synth-pop.
Psychedelic pop.
Indie rock.
Alternative pop.
The song draws from several traditions.
That is why a strict genre-based recommendation list isn’t especially useful.
One listener may love the electronic production.
Another may love the melodic writing.
Another may simply connect with the nostalgic feeling.
The best recommendations depend on which element matters to you.
Which three songs sound most like “End of Beginning”?
For atmosphere:
M83 – Midnight City.
For nostalgia:
The Strokes – Someday.
For modern indie-pop production:
Dayglow – Can I Call You Tonight?
Those three capture different parts of Djo’s appeal.
Is Djo the same person as Steve Harrington?
Yes.
Joe Keery plays Steve Harrington in Stranger Things.
Djo is his musical identity.
But he was involved in music before becoming internationally famous as an actor.
His earlier musical history includes playing with Chicago psychedelic-rock band Post Animal.
That background helps explain why Djo doesn’t sound like an actor casually attempting a music career.
The project comes from a real musical history.
Why did “End of Beginning” become popular again in 2026?
Stranger Things provided another enormous moment of attention.
The show’s conclusion encouraged viewers to think about:
growing older
saying goodbye
the end of an era
and nostalgia.
Those themes aligned almost perfectly with “End of Beginning”.
Interestingly, the song wasn’t part of the series finale itself.
Its renewed popularity came from the cultural moment surrounding the ending.
That distinction matters.
Listeners created the association.
Why do people use “End of Beginning” for hometown videos?
Because the song gives a location emotional meaning.
Chicago is specific to Keery.
But listeners replace Chicago with their own places.
A small town.
A university.
An old neighbourhood.
A city they left.
The song’s specificity makes it more personal rather than less.
Keery has spoken about how listeners can substitute their own experiences for his.
That is why the writing connects beyond one place.
What should you listen to after these fifteen songs?
Follow the emotion.
If you want something uplifting, explore Phoenix and Dayglow.
If you want something more psychedelic, try Tame Impala and MGMT.
If you want something dreamier, head toward Beach House and M83.
If you want to feel slightly devastated by the passing of time, try The Strokes’ “Someday” and The Killers’ “Read My Mind”.
The interesting thing about “End of Beginning” is that it doesn’t really belong to one specific scene.
It belongs to a feeling.
And plenty of extraordinary artists have spent their careers trying to capture that same feeling.