Earlimart, The Wedding Present @ The Troubadour, 9/19/08

Friday night at The Troubadour featured long-time local favorites Earlimart and UK indie pop/rock group The Wedding Present. And, unexpectedly, Keanu Reeves, sitting up in the VIP session, rocking out to the latter. Earlimart went on right at 9 o'clock, with bright, hypnotic images projected on the wall behind them, which included forests, fields, and underwater sequences. An original Ship Collective band whose offshoots/former members include Great Northern and Silversun Pickups, Earlimart are currently back to the basics: talented founders Aaron Espinoza and Ariana Murray, with a touring drummer. The set included music from their two recent albums Mentor Tormentor and Hymn and Her (Majordomo in Japan), as well as from some oldies like 2004's Trebel and Tremble. Murray is fascinating in her effortless switching from a Christmas-light-strewn keyboard to a low-slung bass guitar, and her mellow vocals are the perfect accompaniment to Espinoza's higher, whispery voice. The combination of Murray's synthesized string sounds and Espinoza's hard-driving guitar are very effective; the dynamics between harder rocking songs like the infectious "Nevermind the Phone Calls" and the pretty "Happy Alone" (reminiscent of Headlights' Kill Them With Kindness) kept the show at a good pace, and is part of what keeps Earlimart interesting and continuously on the radar for indie rock fans, regardless of their lack of a label in the U.S. Steadfast good songwriting refuses to be ignored. Espinoza told the crowd, "You are the reason I live here", and bands like this are the reason many of us live in L.A. (Take that, Pitchfork and Airborne Toxic Event.) Needless to say, it was a very enjoyable set.