Eisley

Eisley is an old band, originally formed in 1997, they put out their first album with Warner Bros. Records in 2003. But considering that they were in their very early teens when they formed, they actually are still pretty young. Having spent the last decade trying to find the balance between their vocations as musicians and their personal lives, Eisley finally released their third album, The Valley, early last year. In anticipation of their next album, they released the EP Deep Space, in February. So while the band remains young and hip, the maturity of their music has resonated with audiences over a decade long career.

Eisley started and remains a family project. The band is made up of the Dupree siblings; Sherri on vocals and rhythm guitar; Chauntelle on lead guitar and occasional vocals; Stacy on vocals, keyboard, and guitar; Weston on Drums; and cousin Garron DuPree on bass. The three sisters take the lead with the distinctive vocal harmonies and force, often being compared to Hayley Williams of the band Paramore. And like Coldplay, who they opened for in 2003, they keep the piano and guitars in a dynamic dialogue. But unlike Coldplay, rather than overpower with the electric guitar, Eisley leans toward the subdued chord progressions more reminiscent of Sixpence None the Richer (listen to Eisley’s “Sad” and then Sixpence’s “I Won’t Stay Long”). They have kept a consistent sound over the course of three albums, striking a unique balance between a quieter indie-folk and the bombast and crescendos of a pop sensibility.

Lyrically they take up the common theme of learning from life experience. It seems wisdom comes mostly from hindsight and a broader perspective. In the title track, “The Valley,” there is a longing for the bird’s eye view, the view from the top:

Fire kites drifting through the skies
Up on high I see it all the time
And from the tip top of every mountain view
From the roof I spy on room to room.

Take me home
I walk the night in the valley

The truth is more often the valley view, a perspective that cannot see all the possible paths, or anticipate the looming danger over the horizon. And once the danger has been experienced and confronted, one is left with more questions than answers. Like most pop music, these questions are mostly drawn from the success or failure of romantic relationships. As in The Valley’s closing track, “Ambulance”

Thought you were made for me,
And we shared our history,
And in time you'll tear your eyes far away,
Like a rubbernecker's gaze.
Is it really safe to say
That we're just made that way,
Made to brave the pain?

While Eisley takes on universal and serious questions in their lyrics, their music is light-hearted and catchy. If there is a downside to their music it is that you’ll be humming it in the shower despite your best efforts to move on to enjoy other good music.

- Greg Veltman