Jasper Dean’s Dashcam Compilation EP isn’t a compilation, per se – these four tracks are very much by the same artist. But each song showcases a different strength of the songwriter, from bombastic earworm hooks to tender moments of vulnerability to a veneer of snarling punk ethos. What’s most impressive is how each of these elements can coexist within the same song, within the same moment. This music is highly produced and dependent on technology, while also undeniably human and rooted in emotion.

There are strong indie elements in Jasper Dean’s brand of electro pop. Opener “Strung Out” layers fuzzy synths over a static beat, but blends downtrodden melodies into the verses like Cvrches worshipping Yo La Tengo. The vocals are emphatically auto-tuned and confessional, pulling from recent trends in R&B/Hip-Hop/Pop. Second track “Tell Me Something I Don’t Already Know” leans further into an indie ethos, borrowing lo-fi tactics for the intro. Doubled vocals and fading, overlapping treatments to the instrumentation suggest a more tender mood. Don’t believe it—this mellow trap lulls the listener before blasting the chorus in a 100 Gecs-esque explosion. Despite the dynamics, the vocals and melodies maintain their intimacy, like if Clairo were the frontperson for Guerilla Toss. The dynamics are as crucial to the structure as the progressions, and both aspects are delightfully unconventional.

The EP takes its name from the final track, which pushes the project’s rock elements to the fore. This is a scuzzy, blistering punk opus with clever melodic turns that refrain from overuse. The bridge cleverly segues into a soothing breakdown (with a time signature switch to boot) with echos of Frank Ocean, once again combining the processed and edgy with the soothing and intimate.

The mix is often befuddling, with so many sounds crammed and layered on top of each other. It’s an all-faders-up type of situation, and it works for this project in this stage. There’s surely a lot of nuance this approach sacrifices for the sake of an overall sound. But when the forest is this much fun, who needs to see the trees?