Earlimart [ tickets ]--which takes is name from a small farming town south of frontman Aaron Espinoza's native Fresno, CA--is the rare band that's still evolving and improving after four albums and a half-decade as a recording act.

Originally a punk band with an experimental streak, Earlimart has evolved into one of the more unconventional and surprising acts on the alt-rock scene, combining dreamy melodies, jangly-to-noisy guitars, keyboard flourishes and tape loops into complex, yet highly listenable, soundscapes.

A veteran of several SXSW appearances, the Los Angeles-based group seems to pack a larger venue every year, and its Thursday (3/17) showcase at the expansive nightclub Buffalo Billiards attracted a crowd of hundreds.

This year's set focused on the band's latest release, last year's "Treble & Tremble." The song "The Hidden Track" is the highlight of that album--the culmination of this persevering group's growth--and was also the highlight of the band's performance, building to a crescendo of beautiful noise that dropped jaws throughout the room.

While the band couldn't top the high bar it set with "The Hidden Track" this night, it's fair to expect that Earlimart will have something even better up its sleeve next year.