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Eisley - Room Noises
[Reprise, 2005]
Genre/Rock, Genre/Alternative, Genre/Dream Pop, Tone/Refined, Tone/Bright
What initially attracted me to Eisley was how their music poured out brightly. The instruments channel through crystal-clear vocal prisms. It's music you should hear in a green field with blue skies, a slight breeze, birds flying and fluttering, kites swaying, kids running around with balloons, and senior citizens dressed in their Sunday best two-stepping with fixed smiles.

It was slightly disappointing to learn that four songs from two previously released EPs made it onto Room Noises. I can't complain about three of them, because they are wonderful songs I continue to love. I do not, however, support the decision to re-record Telescope Eyes at a faster tempo. And someone decided to make it the first single! But I've seen the 11th or 12th best song on an album released as the first single on multiple occasions, i.e. Change (in the House of Flies) from Deftones' White Pony.

Eisley's gift for melody and harmony is bountiful to the extent that they can't write a bad song. The only track that feels like it could use more work is the album closer, Trolley Wood, which may be due to the fact that each preceding song was so gratifying, and/or because it is a relatively sparse tune. Instead of Trolley Wood, they should have written an eight-minute song expanding on a sonic theme. But I can wait. Considering the average age of the band is about 22, it's exhilarating to speculate the heights of sonic ecstasy they will achieve.

A curious thing about Eisley is how their music isn't technical, unconventional or avant-garde, yet it manages to unhinge serotonin floodgates. It's the melodies you hear in your head as you straddle the line between consciousness and slumber. It reminds me of the excitement I've felt during songs like Take My Breath Away by Berlin or Never Tear Us Apart by INXS.

Brightly Wound is a crippling song because in its duration I feel like collapsing and staring at whatever. There's something very enchanting about Eisley's ability to have two members sing different lyrics simultaneously. I suppose being sisters helps with the amazing vocal interplay.

The album's high-quality production is necessary, because each note and each vibration deserves a clean and lucid tone. Why on Earth they toured with New Found Glory is beyond me. I don't see how someone could listen to New Found Glory, and listen to this on the same night.

In any given room, there's typically a sound. We normally don't have to figure out the exact source of the sound, unless it's a really unusual sound, like a crash or a scream. I suppose that helps describe the album title's relation to the music because the talent of this band is certainly mystifying. There are no abrupt crashes or painful screaming. It's a collection of sound that I wouldn't mind hearing in any room. It's so freaking pleasant that it's impossible to dwell on anything negative while it's playing. I can't help but think it might be a guilty pleasure because it's so sweet. My lack of guilt may stem from the fact that they write their own music.

Most pop songs race by in front of you. You watch it go by like a fast train. Eisley's music descends from each direction, causing you to rotate wide-eyed and absorb it. It's not detached and plastic like the majority of top 40 radio. Eisley's music, if any in the world (and this goes for Ben Folds, too), belongs on the radio. I don't want this music to be exclusive to home stereos and iPods.
- Joe Younglove (0 comments)

Joe's score: 8.8 (published on April 8, 2005)