Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A marvelous thing, December 16, 2003
Eisley may look sound like a prefab pop band, but no way do they sound like one. Instead it's a sort of clean alternative/indie sound, given a darker shade in their second EP, "Marvelous Things." Musically, it may be better than their first wide release, "Laughing City.""Marvelous Things" is a through-the-rabbit-hole sort of song, full of strange and fantastical creations (like a bat with butterfly wings). "Memories" is hauntingly melancholy. "Sea King" is a musically upbeat song, with slightly sad lyrics about a sea king who has no love. ("Sea king/I know things/without love/you won't get very far"). "Winter Song" is simplistic compared to the rest of the EP, but is a charming little song. Eisley's musical talents have clearly grown; these kids have what lasting music needs, and if they continue to flower they will all have a fantastic future. Lyrics are still good ("Oh and marvelous things/but they are/they are/they are/giving me the creeps"), and Eisley shows an increased ability to convey stuff through nuances and hints. (Although I was a little offput by the "you're so silly" line) Clean guitar and lingering keyboard dominate the music, as well as Stacy and Sherri DuPree's high clear vocals. With greater maturity also comes, for some artists, greater darkness. While I wouldn't call "Marvelous Things" dark, it shows more introspection in the handling of things like materialism and death, without ever being preachy or unsophisticated. The part about the farmer's wife meeting her dead husband again is absolutely amazing. Production on Eisley's first full-length album is due to start soon, and "Marvelous Things" will help whet appetites for it, just the way a good EP is supposed to do. A full-length album of material like this is well-worth waiting for. For those sick of prefab pop and unmemorable rock, this will inspire you to keep listening to music.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
4.5 Stars.... Absolutely Mesmorising, February 7, 2004
Credit must go to where it belongs... my 14 yr old daughter introduced me to Eisley, and I now absolutely love this band. Six months after their debut EP "Laughing City", Eisley released this second EP in late 2003. Eisley (4 siblings and a friend) reminds me musically of Sixpence None the Richer, another fave band of mine."Marvelous Things" (4 tracks, 15 min.) starts off with a blaze with the title track, a hard driving tune with great vocal harmonies, one of the band's trademarks (the lead singer is 15 yrs old, if you can believe it!). "Memories" is in the same vain. "Sea King" is a dreamy track, just great. "The Winter Song" is a reflective tune, and a nice way to round out this EP. If you play both "Laughing City" and this EP back to back, it sounds like a great (if somewhat short) album, frankly. The fact that these are really just teenager kids gives me great hope and expectations for their future output (they are working on their full-fledged debut album now). Meanwhile, we'll do with this. BUY IT!
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Beautiful....., January 25, 2004
Given the overwhelming prescence of mindless, cookie cutter pop, so-called 'AlternaPOP', it is truly, TRULY, refreshing to find a band that not only produces highly sensitive, serenely melodic, pop music, but, does so in such a way that pays telling homage to their musical influences, both past and present.To say that Eisley are an anomaly would be an understatement. Who would have thought that a bunch of KIDS from Texas could fuse together the sublime harmonies of country and western with the more modern, and often more dramatic, chord structures of Radiohead? Certainly NOT this listener. Then, I went to see these youths perform as an opener to Coldplay. They wear their musical heritage of country and gospel on their sleeves proudly and we are all the better for it. Not only are the girls all physically beautiful but, so are their voices! And their stage demeanor is both refreshing and wonderfully honest. They actually BLUSH when people applaud. Screw the reviewer who likened them to Avril Lavigne! Not only do these kids write their own music, something that Avril could not do on her best day, BUT, they are humble in their presentation, something that Avril simply refuses to do. So you decide which you would prefer.
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