Buying time until the proper follow-up to
Barefoot Blue Jean Night is ready,
Jake Owen released the
Endless Summer EP in September 2012, just as the season started to fade.
Owen doesn't quite care if the summer of 2012 is in its sunset; he's acting as if the summer will never fade, delivering four carefree songs that deliver upon the good times "Barefoot Blue Jean Night" promised. Compared to the four cuts here, that 2011 hit is super heavy: nothing here pushes too hard -- the opening "Summer Jam" comes the closest -- and he keeps things light and cheerful, just a bunch of tunes for a sunset filled with beer, friends, and lazy kisses. If it's not too exciting it at least captures his charm in a way the highly buffed
Barefoot Blue Jean Night didn't. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine