Room Noises

Eisley

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 8, 2005)
• Original Release Date: February 8, 2005
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Reprise / Wea
• ASIN: B0006ZOV5E
• Also Available in: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (111 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #32,926 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Eisley’s debut full-length Room Noises is exactly what fans of their 2003 EPs Laughing City and Marvelous Things were hoping for--a shimmering, bittersweet blast. Concocted by three sisters, their brother, and their best friend, the band’s sound recalls the melodic whimsy of artists like The Cardigans, Belly and The Sundays. Their take is more straightforward though, as bright moods light up even the most plaintive ballads; the minor chords of "Lost At Sea," for instance, get cracked open by Sherri and Staci DuPree’s crystalline tandem vocals, allowing one of the record’s many glittery hooks to burst through. It’s like that all the way in fact, as song after song gives birth to a new earworm. The drawback is a lack of diversity which keeps those sunny, delicious moments from having the impact they should. Part of the blame lies with the too-clean production, which you can hear the band trying to break out of here and there (listen to the warped beginning to "Plenty of Paper"). But there’s no need to be perfect straight out of the gate, and there are worse things than listening to a band play to their strengths. -Matthew Cooke

Product Description
Eisley makes one of the most impressive, entertaining and instantly accessible full-length album debuts in recent memories with Room Noises. With guitar pop-rock from three sisters, their brother and a best friend, most still teenagers, Room Noises justifies what the buzz is about-the future.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

50 of 53 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I'm just like you, so leave me alone, February 8, 2005

By	E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

It turns out the old saying is true: The family that plays together, stays together. Four siblings and their best pal make up indiepop group Eisley, whose debut EPs hinted at what they could do. And "Room Noises" certainly proves that their airy, whimsical pop was worth the long wait for.

Some of the songs are from those EPs, although they sound a bit tighter and smoother. For example, the heartbreaking ode to the bullied, "Telescope Eyes," or the prettily whimsical "Marvelous Things." Despite the airy poesy of the songs, there's a distinctly melancholy streak through the album, which peaks at the very beginning: "Memories," a haunting song about a woman mourning her husband's suicide.

Despite a few EP songs, they also have quite a few new songs, like the enchantingly sunny "Golly Sandra," which has echoes of the Beach Boys. But the sparkling pop vibe continues in other songs, carried over in piano melodies and smooth guitar riffs. "Still floating soft/I am dreaming and I'm glad I lost/And still with my fingers/I'm drawing circles in the water," the song goes, as fluid as the water it talks about.

That mixture of bittersweetness and innocent optimism is what makes Eisley so darn appealing. Nowhere are the stereotypical I-just-wanna-have-fun or my-boy/girlfriend-dumped-me-and-now-I-wanna-swim-with-the-toaster music for THIS pop band. While they have some love songs, the emphasis is on their enchanting kind of whimsy.

That whimsy carries over into just about whatever they sing about, whether it's Sherri and Staci singing about dragons in the woods, sunlight and butterflies, or metal teeth and "telescope eyes." Some of the lyrics seem to stray into Flaming Lips-type surrealism, but are also grounded by simple sentiments like, "You have shining eyes, yes like those forest lights, and it makes me want to cry."

After the past few years, with the group rapidly moving out of the teen bracket, one would wonder if Stacy and Sherri Dupree's angelic vocals would have gotten... well, not so pretty. No problem with that -- they sound a bit like younger versions of Beth Gibbons or perhaps Hope Sandoval. The two girls even interplay their vocals in on song, with remarkable skill and spine-tingling results.

At the start of one song, the line "Congratulations, we've finally made it" is sung. And so Eisley has -- and this promising band only shows signs of getting even better in albums to come.

21 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Eisley is one of the best new bands out there, February 14, 2005

By	Paul Allaer (Cincinnati) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

5 Stars if you're new to Eisley; 4 Stars for the rest of us

Eisley has released 2 EPs in early and late 2003, the excellent "Laughing City" and "Marvelous Things". For whatever reason, it's taken over another year for the release of their debut album. The band is in my book one of the best new bands out there, and Coldplay's Chris Martin is a big fan as well (Eisley opened for Coldplay on part of their 2003 US tour).

"Room Noises" (12 tracks, 41 min.) is full of dreamy, yet very catchy songs, not unlike, say, Sixpense None the Richer. The best songs are in the first half of the album, including the opener "Memories", "I Wasn't Prepared", "Memories" (the standout track of the album), and "Brightly Wounded" with great intertwining vocals from the sister lead singers. Other great tracks are "Plenty of Paper", a great up-tempo song, and the closer "Trolley Wood".

What keeps me from giving this 5 stars is that 4 of the songs are rehashed from the 2 EPs (in newly recorded versions), and that's disappointing to a degree for those of us that have followed Eisley from the beginning. We want more new songs! Finally, the Amazon listing shows a bonus track (a remixed version of "Lost at Sea") but the CD I bought doesn't have it, hmmmm... Regardless, Eisley is a breath of fresh air in today's music scene. Eisley is coming to Cincinnati shortly and I can't wait to see them live! "Room Noises" is highly recommended!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Eisley = Screwed by the studio, February 17, 2005

By	Addison (Tyler,TX, USA) - See all my reviews

What a great Indie band! they are from my home town and I have met the members on multiple occasions. However, though I love the new album, I feel that they have been a bit screwed over by the studo. The songs that made their indie career are now completely over-produced, many of them spen up beyond belief (Like Telescope Eyes, which used to be nicely mellow yet driving, is now just fast). Also, the music has lost a bit of its genuine lo-fi indie endearing quality. The music is no less amazing than it was, but I believe that the EPs are a must for anyone truely wanting to enjoy Eisley.