Billboard

Chauntelle DuPree - Guitar
Sherri DuPree-Gilbert - Vocals/Guitar
Weston DuPree - Drums
Stacy DuPree - Vocals/Piano
Garron DuPree - Bass

When listening to Eisley's new album Combinations, it doesn't
take long to hear why the Tyler, Texas, quintet has earned such ardent fans. In
the first minute of the album's opener -- the rock-oriented "Many Funerals" --
sisters and vocalists Stacy and Sherri DuPree trade lines and harmonize with a
beauty unique in modern music, as the guitars and drums carry the song along.


Building on the success of their lauded debut Room Noises, the
guitar-driven Combinations is a diverse collection of songs that
nevertheless fit comfortably together. The lyrics shift effortlessly from
romantic to quirky ("Invasion" even involves an alien takeover), but always keep
the listener fixated on the track at hand.


But where Room Noises contained a mix of new songs and re-recorded older tunes,
Combinations is the band's first full-length of all new material. "It was
exhilarating for us to have an opportunity to start from scratch," Stacy says.
"We were excited to start writing this record and, because of that energy, we
wrote a lot of the songs very quickly."


When the band weave their winsome harmonies and melodies with layered guitar
tones and Weston DuPree's orotund drum beats, images of Fleetwood Mac and
Wings-era Paul McCartney immediately come to mind, particularly on songs like
"Come Clean" and "A Sight to Behold." Then there are "Many Funerals" and
"Invasion," which may be familiar to fans as both tracks have been included in
the band's live sets. Each found new life in the studio alongside the
country-infused "10 Cent Blues" and ballads like the title track.


When it came time for the group -- sisters Chauntelle (25), Sherri (23) and Stacy
(18), their brother Weston (21), and their cousin Garron (17) -- to record, the
quintet turned to noted composer and producer Richard Gibbs, who has not only
produced and collaborated with Korn, but has also scored such films as Queen of
the Damned and the Battlestar Galactica miniseries.


"We wanted to work with someone who had a fresh perspective on how to record our
band," Sherri says. "We thought that someone who understood the film world would
be able to bring a stronger symphonic feel to our songs." The band settled in
with Gibbs for two months at his Woodshed Studios, tracking amidst the bucolic
background of Malibu, Calif. For the sessions, Gibbs also recruited respected
engineer Czaba Petozc (Metallica, Stevie Nicks, Frank Sinatra) and longtime
collaborator George Doering, who added a wealth of left-of-center
instrumentation to the proceedings.


Now that the new album is done, Eisley will hit the road for an extended tour
this fall. During the last few years, the band has shared stages with Taking
Back Sunday, Coldplay, New Found Glory, and Snow Patrol, winning over new fans
at every stop, a trend likely to continue with a summer slot opening for the
Fray and festival trips abroad. Eisley appears ready for great things in the
coming year.

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Stats

plays today - 3

all-time plays - 3738

profile views - 5133

Discography - see all 4

• 

  Combinations

• 

  Laughing City ep

• 

  Marvelous Things

• 

  Room Noises