While not many discs that ring in at 12 minutes and 23 seconds are worthy of note, The Avenues E.P. deserves more play than many full-length CDs.
Just like the desperate town that the band is named after, Earlimart’s first major-label release ends all too quickly after the disc’s five tracks–four of which ring in under three minutes. The opening track, “Color Bars,” is by far the best song to be released, layering strings on top of a bleepy grunge beat. The second song seems to upset the flow of the disc. While the rest of the disc smoothly rides through quiet melodies, “Susan’s Husband’s Gunshop” sounds like a good Dandy Warhols rip off.
Though the album seems like a waste of potential space, The Avenues E.P. is a sign of good things to come.