“Song For“
from the album Hymn and Her
2008
iTunes
With its sixth full-length, L.A.’s Earlimart has perfected its brand of bipolar indie rock. Hymn and Her wallows in earnest heavy-heartedness while still allowing some California sunshine to infiltrate the proceedings. On Hymn, the band — basically Aaron Espinoza and Ariana Murray, with several guests providing sonic enhancements — offers lush production tempered by more experimental leanings. Each song is a headphone treat, offering a wealth of studio trickery and meticulously arranged guitars, strings, mellotron, piano, and Espinoza and Murray’s ardent whisper-singing. On “For the Birds,” airy, muffled drums give way to a booming Phil Spector stomp and a hook of equal size. “Time for Yourself” is an earworm of a heartbreak tune, while “Before It Gets Better” finds Murray sweetly delivering the refrain, “It’s a bloodbath, and it’s getting worse.” You don’t look to Earlimart for surprises. You count on the group to wear its heart on its sleeve, spit out hooks, and dress everything up in gauzy production. If Espinoza and Murray continue cutting the filler like they have on Hymn, we’ll welcome another decade of their signature earbud fodder.