na: earlimart

No wonder they’re sad. Wikipedia tells us that about 38.1% of families in Earlimart, California live below the poverty line. Of course, Earlimart the band are from Los Angeles. So, maybe they just took the name because they thought it sounded cool.

Either way, the group’s decidedly mid-tempo rock has veered towards the depressive ever since their humble beginnings in the late ’90s. Back then, the group’s music was swathed in fuzz, a glorious triangulation of Pixies-esque brutality, Pavement’s sunny slackerisms and Sparklehorse’s quiet desperation. It was a weird mix — and their early efforts were certainly not the most cohesive things in the world, as a result.

Treble & Tremble and their new one, Mentor Tormentor, on the other hand, are cleanly produced and all the better for it. Each and every guitar strum, drum hit and lyric can be heard, maximizing the emotional intensity that Aaron Espinoza brings to his lyrics. Sure, it’s gloomy as all get-out, but what better way to soundtrack the last days of summer?