PJ Western—a.k.a. Joshua Epstein, one half of JR JR, f.k.a. Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.—released his debut solo album Here I Go a few months ago. Last year (before the LP was delayed) we covered that record’s lead single “Blah Blah Blah,” which leaned further into his band’s upbeat synthy sound than the twangy Americana music often associated with the label he released the record through, New West.
Yet that’s the direction two of the album cuts take in his recent “Neighborhoods” session filmed in his backyard in LA. “Hit Man” and “Vast Sea” get reduced to acoustic-guitar and vocals, transforming both songs into alluring singer-songwriter-y fare. With the help of whimpering backing vocals courtesy of Esptein’s dog Potato near the end of the former track, we may be seeing the seeds of a new duo to eclipse Epstein’s work with JR JR. Check it out below.
