By Mitch Holt, Staff Writer
Eisley’s “Room Noises” is a solid album. A follow up to their debut EP, the album is a relaxing cacophony of darkly bright music laced with the beautifully eerie voices and melodies of Sherrie and Stacey DuPree. Eisley toured with Coldplay last year and gained a large fan base along with a record deal with Warner Bros. in February 2003. The have been touring frequently since they were signed and have finally released a good full-length album to follow up their first EP release.
Hailing from Tyler, Eisley is a toned-down, female fronted version of Coldplay, with vocals that hint of Sixpence None the Richer. Stacey, 16, and Sherrie, 21, are sisters and other than the parts with vocal harmonization, it’s hard to tell that this band has two singers. Sherrie and Stacie have extremely similar vocal tones; however, if a melody is sung in the higher vocal register, it’s probably Sherrie, and the deeper vocal parts are left to Stacey.
Despite being similar to other bands, Eisley is not without originality. In fact, Eisley is one of the most original bands since Radiohead or The Paper Chase. Twangy guitars that almost release a country feel, steel guitars that reinforce that feel, sliding vocal melodies and angelic harmonies brought to you courtesy of Sherrie and Stacey, intricate but tasteful percussion parts from their brother Weston and varying song styles prove this band original. The other sibling in Eisley, Chauntelle, adds to the vocal harmonies as well, while the only non-related band member, Jonathan Wilson, plays bass.
Eisley effortlessly pull off soft piano/acoustic guitar ballads and faster, more rock-oriented ditties on the album. “One Day I Slowly Floated Away,” track 11, musically and lyrically serve the listener the most adequately. It begins with a soft piano and Sherrie’s flawless voice and builds into a full-band song, while a distant organ-like, depth-enhancing sound in the background engrosses the subconscious of every listener.
At times, it seems as if the vocals on every song are sung in the same frequency range, becoming somewhat repetitive after six or seven songs. Some dynamic changes might do the trick, but voices this soothing and high-pitched often become hard to listen to after an extended dose of the album. This shouldn’t prevent anyone from buying the album because even if you find what I’ve said true, “Room Noises” is still a magnificent album. It has its shortcomings like any other album would, but the voices of the DuPree girls are still fabulous. In Eisley’s case, the vocal melodies and frequencies become repetitive after several songs.
Credit should be given to Warner Bros. for picking up such an impressive band. Major labels have a hard time, for some reason, finding good talent these days, even though it’s often right in front of their noses. Eisley is a prize for any label. “Room Noises” proves the true talent of this family of musicians and is only a preliminary steppingstone to bigger and better things.
