Earlimart

Hymn And Her

[4/5]

With its moody acoustic guitar chords and insistent beat, the intro to “Song For,” the opening track on Earlimart’s new album, Hymn And Her, could pass for something off Nirvana’s MTV Unplugged In New York. But by the time they hit the chorus and Ariana Murray’s haunting harmonies start playing Stevie Nicks to Aaron Espinoza’s Lindsey Buckingham, they’ve traded in for a ’70s soft-rock sheen that washes over nearly every track from that point out. It suits the wistful tone of songs like “Face Down In The Right Town,” which waits a full four minutes before introducing horns, and “Before It Gets Better,” Murray’s strongest vocal turn. They’re at their best, though, on moodier fare like the suitably hymn-like “God Loves You The Best,” with a Beatlesque snatch of orchestration fit for their old buddy Elliott Smith. (MAJORDOMO/SHOUT! FACTORY) Ed Masley