Most of the things that made Earlimart’s debut (Everyone Down Here) such a staticky joy are in play on Treble & Tremble, and though there’s nothing on this new disc with the same sugary surge as “Burning the Cow,” tracks like “Sounds” attempt to get their shoegaze pogo on with admirable charm. What Aaron Espinoza (the songwriter/guitarist/producer behind Earlimart) has continued on his band’s sophomore disc is the off-kilter sense of guitar-driven melancholy that made the noisy sadcore of Everyone Down Here thrilling. Though quite unafraid to use multiple layers of textural distortion, Espinoza is essentially a woebegone minstrel, and his songs are sonically dense confessionals that continue to make Earlimart a band to watch.
This article appears in Oct 6-12, 2004.