Eisley Album Review

In tenth grade I had a history teacher who liked to make us believe he was the most intelligent person who ever hobbled the planet. One of the ways he did this was by reciting quotes any chance he got. Which means basically the only thing he did was recite quotes. His all-time favorite and most overused quote was "The only constant in life is change itself." At the time, whenever my teacher said this, I thought he was just being an arrogant groin phalange. And I'm sure he was. But now that I'm older and not-that-much wiser, I can at least appreciate what the quote means. The band members of Eisley and I were not in the same history class, but this is nonetheless a lesson Eisley has taken to heart. The theme of Eisley's album Currents is about movement and change. It's a message that's relayed as listeners are taken on a nautical auditory journey.

Hailing from Texas, the indie rock/pop band Eisley has been around for quite a while, having originally formed in 1997. The original band included:

• Sherri Dupree-Bemis: vocals, rhythm guitar

• Stacy King: vocals; keyboard; guitar

• Chauntelle Dupree D'Agostino: lead guitar; occasional vocals

• Weston Dupree: drums

• Garron Dupree: bass

All five members of the original band are siblings (except for Garron DuPree, a cousin). As of 2022, however, the remaining recording and touring members of Eisley include only Sherri Dupree-Bemis and Garron DuPree.

After building up their fanbase with years of extensive touring, Eisley released their first full-length studio album Room Noises in 2005. Room Noises, as well as their second album Combinations (2007), were both released under Warner Brother Records. After having some label issues with Warner Brothers, Eisley left the label, acquired the rights to release their third album, signed with indie label Equal Vision Records in 2010, and released their third album The Valley in 2011.

Currents, Eisley's fourth full-length studio album, came out a couple of years later in 2013. However, it was Eisley's first album that was truly independent. Taking the DIY route, Eisley self-produced and self-released Currents from their home-built studio.

Freedom can either be a blessing or a curse. In Eisley's case, it was a blessing. Unshackled from music labels, the band members had more room to grow and expand artistically, and their exploration led Eisley to the water.

It's impossible not to notice the maritime theme that twirls throughout the creative odyssey otherwise known as Currents. A musical maritime theme is unusual for any soundtrack not from The Little Mermaid or Finding Nemo, but it's a theme that's exquisite, especially for anyone who thinks it's a bummer when it's not summer.

Eisley, in Currents, plays around with this oceanic imagery on many different levels. The band members obviously put a lot of thought into creating this record. On one level Eisley captures the water imagery in words, with album and song names like "Currents" and "Drink the Water," and lyrics like "I'm a watchtower in the morning/Waiting for the sun to rise/I've got riverbeds in my eyes" (in "Find Me Here"). On another level, this back-and-forth motion, which is analogous to the changing of the tides, plays out in the music itself. The instrumentation continually builds and releases, as the vocals alternate between soulful peaks and whispery valleys.

What you end up with is a richly textured ecosystem of musical mastery.

The voyage sets sail with the very first song. "Currents," the title track, opens with a subdued echoing percussion. It's what underwater popping bubbles would sound like if underwater bubbles had a sound when they popped. Album vocalist Stacy King sings, "I would part the waters if you said so/I would shift the currents if you had to row." These lyrics sets the stage perfectly for the next couple of songs.

"Blue Fish," like most other songs on Currents, moves like rolling waves with a constant ebb-and-flow progression. However, the vocal tapestry in this track is especially beautiful. It's unclear whether that's due to the passion surging from the vocals, or if it's because of the way the keys are layered on top of cascading guitar riffs. Either way, the song's beauty is completely immersive.

So is the next track, "Drink the Water." The track opens with strings, as well as a piano arpeggio that repeats for a few measures. The piano is played with an extreme sensitivity, yet it's not without a loose confidence. It's a style that meets at the intersection of pop, jazz, and barroom blues. If there were a bar at this intersection, I'd keep returning to it to take shot after shot. I'd drink all the water. And I'd willingly submerge myself in every single tide, track, and tune of Currents.