Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.
The Speed of Things
??1/2
Indie pop
Sophomore albums are tricky, often serving as the make-or-break moment in a band’s trajectory. Nobody felt this pressure more than Detroit duo Daniel Zott and Joshua Epstein of Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. with its newest release The Speed of Things. The album was the group’s opportunity to capitalize on the previous success of debut It’s a Corporate World while also evolving and expanding its sound. However, the release lacks any real enhancement, as it is overpowered with dated, sticky-sweet electronics and scattered sounds.
The album is comprised of empty pop songs, none gloomier than opener “Beautiful Dream,” a falsetto disco of sorts that oddly combines acoustic guitar with electronic beats and melodramatic lyrics like, “You have my heart/I die with you honey.“
Things pick up slightly with “Run.” At first the song seems upbeat — bubbly, even — with fussily layered synthesizers and techno-infused Afro-Cuban percussion. But gloomy lines like “The only thing that gets me off is painful enough to feel pleasure,” only muddle the overall message.
“If You Didn’t See Me [Then You Weren’t On The Dancefloor]” offers an unconventional beginning, setting a serene stage quickly ambushed by aggressive synthesizers. Slightly sillier lyrics, for the first time, fit with the overall pop-happy tone.
“A Haunting” offers the first insight into real emotions from singer Zott. Here, simple layers of background noise match up with appropriate pauses and meaningful words.
Overall The Speed of Things is enjoyable, but doesn’t do justice to the band’s capacity for growth and accessibility. While sounding pleasant, most songs come across as disconnected and unfocused, typically building into swarms of contradicting echoes. While the album won’t be the be-all-end-all for Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr., it was an opportunity missed — not a whimper, but certainly not a bang.
— Olivia Farley
To get the day's news and headlines in your inbox each morning, sign up for our email newsletters.
