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Make sure you read the name of this Detroit-based band carefully: Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. That’s right: “Jr.” twice. If your expectations of Horse Power are based on the group’s name and EP title and you assume that you’re going to hear four songs of guitar-driven southern rock in the vein of bands such as Lynyrd Skynyrd or The Outlaws, you’re in for a letdown. If you’re a country music fan, and you expect something like Shooter Jennings or Lee Roy Powell, again, you’ll be disappointed.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. is a duo, featuring Josh Epstein and Daniel Zott. When one thinks of Detroit-based music, two thoughts immediately come to a music lover’s mind: Motown and Eminem. DE Jr. Jr. is anything but. You ask, “How about Kid Rock, another artist from the Detroit area?” Not even close.
I listened to this EP of four songs over and over, trying to put my thumb on describing it. It’s got a little hip-hop to it, an ethereal feel; it’s surely electronic pop with bare instrumentation and some lyrics that are sung as though someone is actually reciting a poem instead of singing.
Finally, it hit me. As a person who travels a fair amount for work, I thought back to a few years ago, when certain hotel chains would give you a CD with relaxing music to help you fall asleep. Add this EP to that category.
I think there is some talent here, but Horse Power feels as though it’s a demo, not a finished record. Again, I have to admit that I’m a rock ‘n’ roll, guitar-driven, drums-bashing music lover, so I just had a hard time listening to this EP without my mind wandering. No drum fill or particular guitar riff or even a chorus to keep me hooked.
The last song on the EP is the duo’s cover of the masterpiece, “God Only Knows,” by the Beach Boys, whom the duo credits as one of their influences. If Brian Wilson was first recording that song today, maybe DE Jr. Jr.’s version would be how it would sound. However, what made that song a masterpiece was not just the basic instrumentation of a pop group back then, consisting of guitar, bass, and drums. The music ensemble also included French horns, a harpsichord, a flute, and a clarinet to give the song its orchestral feel. Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.’s version is really stripped down and, excuse me for being redundant, sounds like a bare-bones demo.
The duo plans on releasing a full-length CD early 2011. My suggestion is to wait and see if that collection of music has a little more meat to it before you spend your hard-earned dollars on a little appetizer.
