Tainted love

On Earlimart's new album, a look at the ambiguities in relationships

October 05, 2007|Jonathan Perry, Globe Correspondent

The bitterness inside the sweet on "Fakey Fake," the opening salvo of Earlimart's new album, "Mentor Tormentor," is easy to miss at first. The song begins with Aaron Espinoza's delicate acoustic guitar and rustling whisper of a voice, tiptoe soft and telling a secret to a close friend.

"Always been down with one of the two," Espinoza sings. "You were the fake and I was the fool. But you were too young to know all the rules, so I was the fake and you were the fool." The lyrics, cryptic as a code only understood between the two parties, seemingly shift perspective. The tension builds and turns electric. The drums, dry and unobtrusive at first, grow heavier, angrier. Soon the song sounds like an accusation - maybe a mutual one. Lyrically veiled though it may be, the tune sounds poisonous and pained, as if drawn from personal experience.

"Definitely," Espinoza agrees over the phone, heading to a show in Portland, Ore. (Earlimart hits Harpers Ferry on Sunday.) "As you get older, it seems you have less and less friends. Recently, I've had some longtime friendships hit the road, which was unfortunate. But everybody has to deal with it."

He's trying to downplay the rancor that clearly fueled the song, but when reminded that the track leads off - and in some ways set the tone for - an album that bristles with songs about dashed hope and getting hurt, Espinoza laughs. He's not giving details, but he knows he's been caught.

"I think it's pretty much about the gray area in relationships," says Earlimart's co-songwriter and bassist Ariana Murray, who with Espinoza forms the group's nucleus (touring members include ex-Eels drummer Derek Brown, guitarist Michael Orendy, and keyboardist Andrew Lynch). "Even with the best relationships, there's another side to things, and the people who are closest to you are also the ones who are capable of doing the most damage - whether they know they are or not."

It might be tempting to assume the track refers to the past romantic relationship between Espinoza and Murray, who immediately started making music together when they met a decade ago as housemates in Los Angeles. But you'd be wrong. They remain close collaborators, friends, and business partners (the pair recently launched Majordomo Records in partnership with their label, Shout! Factory, and intend to sign other artists to the imprint). So, are they the Sonny and Cher of indie rock? Murray cracks up at the comparison.