The past two years have been kind for Detroit-based indie pop duo Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. Known as much for their quirky name as their luscious harmonies, the duo of Josh Epstein and Daniel Zott have come a long way from their days of bouncing around the Detroit music scene. Their recent work, Patterns EP, is more of the same from the duo, which means to expect an experimental, but forward thinking body of work. This EP is only the appetizer for the main course, which is in the form of a proper sophomore album that will be released later this year.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. is fortunate in the sense that they’ve picked the right time to make the music that they do. With groups like Passion Pit paving the way indie sounding synth pop, it makes it easier for them to forge ahead and be experimental without running the risk of sound weird or out of place. That’s the context that Patterns finds itself in

Opening track “If You Didn’t See Me (Then You Weren’t On The Dancefloor)” initially sounds like a cross between Daniel Johnston and a late-era Beatles bootleg recording until a progressive build ends up throwing you a curveball and the lo-fi sound quickly becomes poppy and danceable. The song slowly builds before taking off more than halfway through. Once the song finds its identity, you’re disappointed it’s over. 

Naturally it wouldn’t be a Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. release if there weren’t crunchy synths and lots of “ooos” and “aahhs.” Those sounds serve as the foundation for “Hiding,” which incorporates other eclectic instruments to make this a fun 13-minutes of your time, even if it feels like it ends abruptly and leaves you wanting more.

While the purpose of this EP was to salivate fans and listener’s tastes until the full length comes out, what Epstein and Zott have done is provide a crystal ball into what the future holds for them. Though they’ll be playing a few one-off shows in the coming weeks to promote this release, what people should take away from this is not the EP itself, but make you think what direction could these guys go in next. Is it ‘70s inspired disco anthems or could it be harmonic Beach Boys inspired tracks? Will they focus on being dancey, poppy or both? All of these are valid questions that no one knows the answers to outside of Epstein and Zott. But until their sophomore effort is unleashed to the masses, this will have to do.

Photo by JUCO