Eisley - "Room Noises"(Reprise, 2005)

This album came out a year ago this week, which is why you won't be reading about it in the pages of the Daily News. In a world where "newsworthiness" means the album has to have been released in the few months prior to publication, indie bands get the short end of the shift, particularly independent bands distributed by major labels, which lose promotion money if the album fails to chart on the high end in early weeks. Eisley's excellent debut Room Noises falls into that category. The album, which made an ephemeral blip on the radar of the national scene, features some of the best pure alt pop in the last five years, but because it peaked at #189 on the Billboard chart and then rapidly disappeared last February, I'd say it's a safe bet none of you reading this actually heard it.

That's a real shame, because this Texas-based quintet, led by Sherri DuPree, have an ear-catching sound that is rare in today's scene. Not since the mid-90s, when the airwaves featured such distinct female voices as Shawn Colvin and Sixpence None the Richer vocalist Leigh Nash, has such a simply airy vocalist commanded my attention. Sherri brings blends the memory of both, creating an immediately recognizable sound that is all her own. It is this sound that commands the album, and it is all the better for that.

That isn't to say this is a one note band. Sherri's two sisters (Chauntelle on guitar and vocals and Stacey on drums) and brother Weston (drums) join her, forming the core of the band as Jon Wilson (bass) provides the additional depth that ties the whole band's sound together. Fueled by strong original composition, Eisley's songs, including potential singles in "My Lovely" and "Memories" (which reminds me of a blend of Anna Nalick with Vanessa Carlton) hearken back again to the mid-90s folk pop explosion, comparable to Belly, Radiohead and The Sundays, as well as to modern alternative acts such as Coldplay. It's a broad sound, which makes it all the more special that the band maintains an element of simplicity throughout Room Noises.

All of which begs the question: why did the band's sound fail to find an audience? Perhaps they missed their chance by taking eight years since their formation to record a full studio album. More likely, howevever, since musical trends seem to cycle around in much the same way as the fashion world, perhaps it's better to think they're ahead of their time. Here's hoping Eisley gets the chance to record a sophomore album, to prove that they're not going out without a fight; to say that in a world where cookie-cutter rock and pop bands control the airwaves there's still room for a band with a different brand of pop hooks.