Earlimart - Hymn and Her

Genre indie-rock Publisher Majordomo External Links Earlimart Website

Less than a year after the release of their long awaited Mentor Tormentor, Earlimart are releasing Hymn and Her, their sixth studio album. The L.A.-based duo, consisting of Aaron Espinoza and Ariana Murray, has often been likened to the late Elliott Smith, with whom they were friends. Hymn and Her, due in stores July 1, shows only a little sign of straying from this resemblance.

The album starts out promisingly optimistic with "Song For," and I was soon tapping my foot to the pulsing drums and bass. However, the next couple songs seem to lag in contrast, and even Ariana’s voice, which is nevertheless a refreshing addition to the duo, is dangerously close to lulling me to sleep. In fact, the songs are pretty forgettable until the dull string of long vowels whisper-sung over unspectacular melodies (and some seemingly misplaced synthesizer in "For the Birds") is broken by "Cigarettes and Kerosene." On this song, they manage to keep their sound while coming up with a more interesting arrangement, more akin to the crisper songs of Mentor Tormentor. The same goes for "Time For Yourself," on which the synthesizer sounds much more appropriate, even welcome, and Ariana’s vocals make me want to sing along rather than fall asleep.

From the sounds of Hymn, it is a little surprising that this is Earlimart’s sixth album, and the songs are not so prolific that the relatively quick release seems necessary. Earlimart isn’t really known for profound lyrics, and on Hymn and Her they come off a little simplistic for the sake of rhyming. The title track, for example, ends with Aaron cooing "If I ever get to sleep / I’ll be deep in my dreams, just you and me." And I’m yawning again. I wonder why they decided to release this album so soon after Mentor, for which they made fans wait a whole three years (after 2004’s Treble and Tremble), and which sounds much more complete and original. This is not to say that Hymn and Her is totally lacking sound and substance, but a little more rumination and refinement in the studio may have done some good.

Earlimart is slowly developing a sound of their own, but in all but a couple songs on Hymn, they seem to revert back to many of the same Elliott Smith tendencies. The album is not unpleasant to listen to; in fact, the few songs that do stand out are enough to carry the rest of the album. And, in a bout of genius, they break up the pattern of lengthy tunes in the last track "Tell Me," which clocks in at under 2 minutes. After eleven other tracks around three and four minutes long, this brevity is pleasantly unexpected, and keeps us looking forward to what might come next.