Earlimart - Mentor Tormentor

Earlimart

Mentor Tormentor

October 25, 2007

By Mr. Marlowe

*** / ****

Released August 21, 2007

The wispy sounds of indie folk rock are in full swing with Earlimart’s fifth album, Mentor Tormentor. Part Elliott Smith re-tread, part Imperial Teen eclectic piano and rock experimentation this Jekyll and Hyde album floats in and out of aural pleasure over its 15 song cycle daring the listener to declare it excellent, boring, or otherwise badly in need of an editor. The truth, as usual, is somewhere in between (though the editor thing is certainly true).

The good in Mentor Tormentor is very good but never quite excellent. Lacking the variety to be particularly catchy or memorable, there are still a number of entertaining pieces to the Earlimart puzzle. Never Mind the Phonecalls starts with a drum machine and a sneaky riff then shimmies its way into 3 ½ minute pop precision. Cold Cold Heaven works similarly beginning with toe tapping heavy acoustic strumming until the beeps, whirs, and children’s chorus take over later and the whole body gets moving. Answers and Questions is drama personified with pop bliss escalating to a finale of crescendos and breakdowns. The Little Thing, at just over two minutes, is a short, sweet throwaway but nonetheless captures the best (excellent detail) and worst (it doesn’t particularly stand out) of what Earlimart is all about: indie folk rock that works best as background music to a cram session. The standout of the bunch is Happy Alone, featuring Ariana Murray on vocals. This tune is a nice break from the repetitive Aaron Espinoza and transcends the other tunes as one of the few moments where the singing makes the song. This quintet of pretty good tunes, however, does not a great record make and when combined with a handful of mediocre tracks and another bunch of boring and totally forgettable ones, the whole of Mentor Tormentor is never as good as its shining moments.

Like Elliott Smith and Death Cab for Cutie, my biggest peave with Earlimart is the vocals. Sure, they soar and rise above the music but they also put me to sleep. A lullaby here and there is good stuff but when the rockin’ tunes likewise make your eyelids heavy then there’s a problem. Still, Mentor Tormentor has enough good singles to remain among the more notable releases of 2007 and is prime fodder for any 2007 mix tape.

Best Songs: Nevermind the Phonecalls, Cold Cold Heaven, Answers and Questions, Happy Alone, Little Things