In order for that title to make sense, please ignore the black-and-white photo ahead of this text. Thank ya.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. are an alt-pop act that were — at least, what this writer thought — criminally underrated and not all that big, which was — again, what this writer thought — a crime, because if you sing harmonies like these guys do, you should be playing at venues like the Sinclair.

Which is, uh, what they did. Huh?

Let me explain my confusion; I was a big fan of the band’s first record, the 2011 release It’s a Corporate World, and after that I completely checked out. Didn’t hear anything until the Patterns EP, heard the latest record The Speed of Things a couple of weeks ago, and didn’t really give them a second thought. It was good stuff, but I just never made the connection that they had rapidly expanded in fans and live show ability, which ultimately made me surprised that I was going to see them at the Sinclair. I actually thought, “Wait, who are they opening for?” when I saw it.

Which made this night even cooler, because in my attention absence Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. became a well-oiled hook pop machine, and they learned how to kick ass onstage.

First up was Los Angeles alt-pop trio Mini Mansions, who used some heavy, heavy keyboards and ridiculous harmonies of their own to get the crowd warmed up. What these guys lack in proper drum kits, they made up for in the humongous “MINI MANSIONS” sign at the front of the stage, and general resemblance to a Miami Vice-esque club act. Their songs routinely started off slow, but got the crowd bobbing along as sky-high vocals from Michael Shuman (also of Queens of the Stone Age) and Tyler Parkford inevitably won us over.

Mini Mansions could take a cue from Shuman’s other band, and get cocky as hell. With voices and slick grooves (not to mention extremely slick fashion sense), they would do well to dial up the douchebag persona and groove a little onstage. I want to feel uncomfortable bringing a date to a Mini Mansions show for fear that they’ll individually sweep her off her feet. I want to feel incompetent as a man when I see these guys gliding over the stage. Instead, it only happens when they open their mouths and sing. I can deal with that, as of now. But these guys are one step away from living up to the all-white suits worn by Shuman, and that step spells “groovin.”

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I was terrified that the Dales (my pet name for them that may work for this review, but I’m not counting on it) wouldn’t be able to mimic the texture of their records live. I’ll admit, this opinion started to change once the tech guys set up the gigantic display crystal ball thing behind the stage and ran some test patterns. Surely, they wouldn’t splurge like that unless they knew what they were doing, right? Keep in mind, at this point of the show I’m still convinced that their live show would look like this.

But as soon as “Beautiful Dream” from their newest record hit the speakers, we were thrust into the first part of what would become a journey into Bright-Eyed Candy Everywhere Your Problems Are Synthetic And So Are You World. I mean, look at this photo:

There’s no way someone is going to wear that jacket and not immediately become your best friend. And within a few songs, frontmen Joshua Epstein and Daniel Zott had won us over to the point where open bidding began on said jacket. (It was not for sale.)

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. has a systematic and cinematic approach to every track they do. Material from It’s a Corporate World was beefed up, in no small part thanks to the two other studio musicians backing up Epstein and Zott. “Vocal Chords,” my favorite track, sounded absolutely divine. The new material (including unreleased tracks) mixed both pre-recorded cues with live electronic improvisation and vocal modulation almost just as well as Jamaican Queens, which is the highest compliment I can give.

They made excellent use of crowd-pleasing props. A bubble machine garnered tremendous cheers when it worked its magic a couple of times, and the aforementioned crystal ball thing lit up with coordinated images from an anime character to a short cartoon of snow.

Perhaps the most impressive part of the entire night, and the reason why this band can upstage anyone on any given night, are the incredible harmonies and vocal cues from the frontmen. Epstein and Zott are fucking blessed. Their voices were birthed in candy-pop heaven, and they look so effortless when pounding out every facet of their (sometimes taxing) new songs that it doesn’t seem real. It was clear when Epstein would go to a tricked-out mic for some extra effects, but their talent won the entire night. Zott in particular nailed the cutout on the final track “A Haunting” so well that I thought I was watching a lip-sync on the Whitney Houston scale.

Couple that with a genuinely fun stage presence (including some crowd-hopping to the end), and these guys conqured a Sunday night like I haven’t seen in a long time.

One thing’s for sure: I’m never underestimating Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. ever again.