Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Absolute Talent, 20 Sep 2007
The only thing I would criticise about this album is that its over all to soon, at just 10 tracks. For those who don't know Eisley's previous work, their music is an extremely deep and well produced piece of artistic music. Not artistic in the way that its to clever for its own good or has ideas above its station. The young and thoughtful band fill each song with wistful ideas and sometimes harrowing or even taunting statements and questions.
However, it isn't a hard or overly powerful type of music. Each melody is soft and heavy in equal parts and its hard to believe that singing of this standard could be natural. But that's the joy of Eisley, although the lyrical content that bleeds in the piano and guitars music is often very depressed, the music isn't actually depressing and personal I find that hearing something that's so based on the talents of those producing it very uplifting.
I prefer this album to the first, it has a handful more of variety. Its more mature and thought out than most music and its very clear that the band know their and care for the audience when it comes to connecting with the music or just simply providing a new take on their already established sounds.
For those who have heard the first Eisley album or an EP or two, you'd be foolhardy to miss out on the new even better much more mature offering, and if you have had only a fleeting glimpse of the music and are wondering if you should find out more about that band you wont be disappointed.
This music isn't demanding on your attention unless you want it to be, and there's something modest about music with so many levels when a lot of other current music spends far to much time base don opinions and narrow points of view.
As I said before this music knows it's place and it certainly is a beautiful piece of work.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Combining, 29 Aug 2007
Eisley is all grown up. Once they sang all about trolley woods, sea kings and "telescope eyes."
But in their second full-length album "Combinations," the Texan pop family sounds somewhat different. Their pretty pop and girlish vocals have stayed the same, but their music has darkened and matured all around -- the instrumentation more textured and rich, and the tone more wistful.
"Bring along your tricks and trade/we will lie here/here we lay/and though this ship is out to sea/I'm content to lie peacefully," Stacy and Sherri Dupree sing over a gentle nautical acoustic melody.
But it doesn't stay so mellow-sounding -- the song blossoms into a hard-edged pop tune, with moments of epic fuzzy guitar or shimmering piano-rock. And the song gets darker too: "And now we have no chances/We fill the empty caskets/and leave you with your tears... We all will take more chances/Before our lives end too..."
Things don't get much lighter in the sprightly "Invasion" tune ("You will be one of us painless, us blameless/go to sleep, this won't hurt a bit/shifting your shape to our shells"). They stick mostly to the upbeat sound, which is more lush and full-bodied than ever before -- catchy country-pop, swirling little rockers, ethereal ballads, gentle acoustic songs, and finally the haunting, music-box ballad "If You're Wondering."
For the record, Eisley's music hasn't changed THAT much -- they still have pretty, shimmering pop and deceptively simple lyrics. But the lyrics have more of an emphasis on love and tragic occurrances (like alien invasion, suicide and plagues), as if the band has grown up from children to young adults. As they have.
In essentials, the music hasn't changed much at all -- lots of swirling intertwined guitars, underlying basslines, gentle piano melodies, solid drums, and loops of spooky synth. And they weave in some xylophone, tambourine and what sounds like a balaika. But over time, their playing has grown more self-assured, and the melodies have become intricate, lush and textured.
And simply put, Stacy and Sherri Dupree have lovely vocals. Their girlish voices soar through the pop songs, sometimes solo and sometimes in harmony. And they sing songs about oppressive monarchs, alien invasions, and tangled loves ("You'll never contemplate that I am near/And help goes unseen/You're a cave, admitting who you choose/And I could be there for you").
Eisley's "Combinations" sees the wunderkind band growing and expanding, turning out a string of pretty, wistful pop gems. Definitely a great listen.
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