Earlimart

• Genre: Indie/Alternative
• Earlimart Website

About

Named after a small SoCal town, L.A.'s Earlimart put their West Coast pride into hazy indie rock that resonates with warbly psychedelia and dozy melancholia fit for a lazy weekend road trip through the Mojave Desert. While Cali inspirations lie heavy on their sound and lyrics, the coed band's influences run far and wide. They link the solemn folk of Elliott Smith, the lo-fi leanings of Pedro the Lion and the twittering effects of Sparklehorse with the raggedy riffs and woozy melodies of noise pop eccentrics like the Pixies and Sonic Youth. Fronted by Aaron Espinoza, the original lineup formed in 1999 and released two records on a small indie label, Devil in the Woods. But it wasn't until 2003's Everyone Down Here, which featured a new lineup and tracks coproduced by Grandaddy's Jason Lytle, that the band received national recognition. After Treble and Tremble dropped in 2004, the band started shifting its noise tendencies into folksier ones with 2007's Mentor Tormentor and 2008's Hymn and Her.

- Stephanie Benson