by Jon Pruett

Earlimart

w/Creeper Lagoon, Milwaukee

Sat July 19, Graceland, 10 pm (late show), $8 adv.

For Earlimart, the past few years have been a blur of promise, tragedy, and renewed faith that there's a point to their musical pursuits. They've moved out from the indies to the majors, releasing Everyone Down Here into an atmosphere more welcoming to the band's moderated pop forms, blissful noise, and wide-eyed wonder--in part thanks to Grandaddy, with whom the band shares a kinship that stretches beyond an appreciation for spacious music (Jason Lytle helped produce the record). More than anything, though, you've got to blame their buzz on frontman Aaron Espinoza's songs--tracks that exude a grainy sort of psychedelia that finds art in the everyday moment.

Earlimart began in the late '90s, releasing two albums of frenetic pop and slow-burners on Devil in the Woods--crunchy, punked-up songs that drew from Espinoza's longtime favorites, the Pixies and X. (In addition to providing a major influence, Exene Cervenka also provided some vocals on the group's debut.) In 2001, though, relationship woes and the death of a friend suddenly brought anguish and doubt to Earlimart's future. Shed of expectations and fueled by the idea that punk rock need not be measured by volume or aggression, Espinoza recorded songs that worked more like ballads, with pianos leading the way and a general sense of mystified sadness pouring out. And now, things are looking up for the band again.

Earlimart has since released the aforementioned LP, Everyone Down Here, on Palm Pictures, on the heels of their lush Avenues EP. They've toured Europe with Grandaddy, co-hosted shows on MTV2, and played comedy venues with David Cross. With this much of a spotlight, it helps that Everyone stands up to scrutiny. The propulsive single "We Drink on the Job" is a slightly humorous, crackling bit of Unrest-like fuzz-pop. It's basically an anomaly, as the rest of the record braves darker waters, with somber mini-symphonies like "The Movies" and the hypermelodic "Lazy Feet 23" taking off into more bleak and emotionally destructive waters. The album is never without a blink of hope, though, as Earlimart are able to provide a landscape of familiar scenes punched up with glory and possibility.