JR JR - JR JR

JR JR
JR JR
2015

They used to be called Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr., but apparently that joke has run it's course and now JR JR is enough for this Detroit duo. However the music is still firmly grounded int he Indiepop scene with catchy hooks and anthemic choruses designed to make hipsters pretend that they aren't listening to pop music. This album however doesn't really deliver the goods. The music is fine and catchy enough but it never connects as a band like Mister Wives does. There is a lack of inventiveness that really handicaps JR JR. "In the Middle" tries to bring the dancable 80s back but it really ends up being a disappointment. The falsetto and in general high pitched singing is quite grading after 11 tracks because there is nothing to really round it out. The sound becomes all tremble and very little bass. What this effectively does is make the lyrics which are quite well done and introspective seem like they are part of bubblegum bullshit. As the album goes on the pace even slows down so high energy is not even sustaining the record.

For an album this short the last 9 songs seem to drag on forever. You keep wanting to have something grab you, make you move but that just never comes. Instead you are left with music to keep your hands in your pockets to. JR JR do have a really good lyrical structure, but you hardly notice it when the music never allows you to actually engage with what they are saying. The lightness of the music also makes it seem so fleeting and transient that you never really want to get into it. JR JR may have changed their name, but their music is quite stagnant and quite frankly boring. There are other bands out there doing this genre well, JR JR just aren't one of them.

3 out of 10