Detroit’s JR JR: My, How They’ve Grown
Though their name may contain more than its fair share of diminutives, Detroit’s JR JR have completely risen to the occasion—and with their eponymous third album, may well be having their senior moment.
And that’s a good thing.
The robustly talented and colorful Detroit-based combo, known to the world as pals Daniel Zott and Joshua Epstein, have grown significantly since their 2011 debut album It’s A Corporate World and its 2013 follow-up The Speed Of Things. For starters, they’ve changed their humorous but perhaps slightly confusing name.
Formerly Dale Earnhardt Jr Jr—like the famous stock car racing driver, but with an extra “Jr”—the band recently dropped the first half of their name. Why? Mostly, they maintain, to avoid unwanted confusion. “We’ve had people drive long distances to shows,” they’ve noted, “only to be disappointed when they realize it’s a neurotic Jew and wild haired gentile from Detroit they’ve paid to see.”
But there was no confusion when the talented pair dropped by Yahoo’s Santa Monica studio recently, to offer up two songs, an upbeat interview, and the unexpected appearance of accompanying chihuahua Potato, a treat by any standard.
Zott and Epstein were talkative, upbeat, pleased with their new album—as they should be, as it’s solid, impeccably produced, and loaded with catchy tunes—and a great taste of the talent emanating from the Motor City circa 2015. It’s all about progress, and Album Three is very much a step forward for the band. “It was a natural progression for us, from the first to second to the third album,” says Daniel Zott. “To just sort of simplify things, find our voice, and sort of like…get out of the way a little bit.”
Between them, Zott and Epstein are sharp, talented music makers with a taste for the eclectic: JR JR’s music is catchy, clever, and well arranged—but doesn’t actually sound like anyone else in particular.
This often means artists are good.
“If you think of ‘God Only Knows’ by the Beach Boys,” notes Zott, “it changes keys, it has jazz chords, it’s very funky–but people can sing along to that song, and it was a radio smash hit.
“That to me is the ultimate goal—to be able to write something [about which] musicians would say, man, that’s really interesting and complex—but it has whatever quality that people that don’t know anything about music can sing along to.”
It is a worthy goal, not always attainable, true. But there’s a musical core working within JR JR that’s been present since Album One—back when their name was twice as long—that’s ample indication they’re heading in the right direction. Listen for yourself, and you will hear it.
