Previously recognized under the moniker Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr., Detroit indie-poppers Jr. Jr. shed a surreal new video, “Gone,” to tease their up-and-coming self-titled studio-effort. The new record, Jr. Jr. is set to be released on September 25th, courtesy of Warner Bros. Records.
Hoisted on the grounds of an entirely new perspective, the boys of Jr. Jr., Josh Epstein and Daniel Zott, have come a long way from recording in Zott’s basement in Royal Oak, Michigan. Masterfully guided under the direction of Spain-based duo, Los Perez, the video begins under the solace of slow panning-frames issuing your everyday common folk (given a cameo or two by Tom Hardy and Katie Holmes) on the streets of the city, when the drums take stride and slice bodies…literally.
Left to its own devices, the video narrative displays an assortment of human leg-pairs dancing to the beat of their own drum, through all walks in life. While visually obscure, the metaphor is sheer conceptual-genius. The song is anthemic and exemplary of the band’s inimitable charm.
While the name change is clear, indicative of the band’s transformative nature, musical-influences from unlikely genre’s and sources have emerged. In 2014, Jr. Jr. carefully crafted music for the hip-hop mixtape, Produce, featuring Chuck Inglish, Asher Roth, and Murs.