The old five-point scale has been retired in favor of just rating stuff 1-10, which allows me a much more nuanced final rating. Still don't take it that seriously. Most of these come from my own collection, so the grades skew rather high. Your results may vary if you send me stuff to review.
Each album is given three Essential tracks, my personal favorites, regardless of how weird and inconsequential they are. The Quintessential pick is the one I think best represents the album as a whole, so you can try one song instead of a whole album of songs. Non-Essential picks range from merely disappointing to outright unlistenable.
"Hello Chico, we are Earlimart!"
Writing the other half of their songs finally and dropping the more rustic influences from their first record, Earlimart go for a gut-level Pixies-lite attack to much better effect on their second, Kingdom of Champions. This might immediately turn off some people, but I'm going to say it: this album is comfy. This is the epitome of familiarity, a band digging their heels in with songs that aim for fun and likable over revolutionary. Is it perfect? God no, but that's not what Earlimart are here for, shitdick. They're here to smash through a few six packs and tossed-off tunes like a plate glass window and top it off with a drunken home movie--now, are you coming or not?
"Are You Pickin' Up What I'm Layin' Down?" is the minute-and-a-half mission statement: scream and nasal your way through a set of sarcastic, ill-adjusted lyrics over chunky indie bashers peppered with enough rhythmic angularity to not feel too straight and be out in two minutes. Leprechauns being your reason to live? Sure, why not. Eileen's hot pants and handjobs in her black IROC? Money. It's when Earlimart stop shouting for no reason that they come away proper champions, though, whether it's "Dead on the Dance Floor"'s sticky 4AM exhaustion or the genuinely beautiful, hushed title track. It's a prototype for what would come soon after; that's one to cream your wet stack over.
| Essential: | Quintessential: | Non-Essential: | Rating: |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Leprechauns Can Really Fuck You Up", "Don't Peek", "Kingdom of Champions of Bellies" | "A.M. Countdown" | "Cabin Fever" |  |
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