The coed members of Earlimart favor a midtempo approach to their start-stop motions of experimental post-punk, dreamy indie pop, and folky undertones. Named after a small California town located between Los Angeles and Fresno, Earlimart's unconventional songwriting structure drew early comparisons to the Pixies, Sonic Youth, X, and Sparklehorse. This attention resulted in a deal with Devil in the Woods Records, which released the albums Filthy Doorways and Kingdom of Champions in the winter of 2000. The Avenues EP appeared three years later, signaling a switch from the band's punky roots to a more sedate, hypnotic style reminiscent of Grandaddy. The full-length Everyone Down Here arrived that same April, and Treble & Tremble followed in 2004. Moving further away from its post-punk beginnings, the band (whose chief member is Aaron Espinoza) released Mentor Tormentor in 2007, an album sonically influenced by Elliott Smith and heavily rooted in chamber pop and lo-fi. Released in 2008, Hymn and Her furthered that lush, spacy sound. After taking a few years off to participate in other projects, including the group Admiral Radley, Aaron Espinoza and Ariana Murray returned to Earlimart for 2012's System Preferences.

Mike DaRonco
AllMusic.com