Laughing City
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kLafied
Laughing Citizen


if anyone is interested.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3QiMqdkqRJ8

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tahruh
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"IF YOU CAN GET THROUGH THE FACT THAT THEY'RE WOMEN..." Laughing

Gotta say that the dude straight outta 1994 ain't all wrong. And well, the other dude...

Think it's pretty fair.

Also, I know the songs themselves are a few years old, but how about the actual recordings?
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wilsmith
Vintage Newbie


kLafied wrote:


Big Ideas put that up in the first reviews there, here's what I said there, I still stand by.

wilsmith wrote:
^ They said Eisley is more well known than Tegan and Sara... Embarassed therefore, they either are Precognitive or FAIL.

It was interesting that the biggest gripes were:

Having Female Vocals
Sounding Pop, predictable pop song structures on a few tracks
Vocals contrasting with "Rocking out" and not being Emo or gruff enough to evoke the kind of emotion expected. (which contradicts their complimentary comments on dynamics, and their criticism of being predictable/ typical of pop)

But I think they aim to come of as a couple of "dudes" so that all makes sense in context. Music criticism, where our prejudices come to play Razz

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norad
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I disagree with the statement about the "vocalist" (it didn't really sound like he was talking about two singers when he was talking) "worrying more about having that chruchy American Idol radio friendly voice". Really? Like really? Rolling Eyes
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ks1990
Lost at Forum


"If you can tolerate the female vocals..."

Ugh. Can't even.
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The Man In The Moon
Lost at Forum


i will agree that i do think the valley is a little bit safe. i love the album, but i feel the band could do something that would make the world stop. personally, i think that The Valley is a foreshadowing of what's to come in the future, just a sample of what the band's capable of. i mean, this album has a lot more bold songs than previous releases and their songwriting has gotten more mature too. i'm thinking on the next few albums it'll be a grabbed by the collar and slapped in the face type bold.

it would be cool if sherri did some piano too and they did some dual piano songs, or pick up a synth and add some electronic textures to showcase they're radiohead and bjork influences. i do like the electronic sounds under Mr. Moon, and i think it's reminiscent of the old MossEisley recording and old live recording of Over The Mountains or the live version of Sea King. i think it'd be cool to incorporate those sounds back into their music again and perhaps make them a little more prominent.

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kLafied
Laughing Citizen


ks1990 wrote:
"If you can tolerate the female vocals..."

Ugh. Can't even.


Totally agree, but gotta be honest, a lot of people (whether we like it or not) hear female vocals and automatically lower their expectations. I think that's what they were getting at.

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The Man In The Moon
Lost at Forum


kLafied wrote:
ks1990 wrote:
"If you can tolerate the female vocals..."

Ugh. Can't even.


Totally agree, but gotta be honest, a lot of people (whether we like it or not) hear female vocals and automatically lower their expectations. I think that's what they were getting at.


i knew some guys like that in my dorm last year. they were really pretentious though, and annoyed me cause i like listening to a lot of female fronted bands.

what really got me was that bands like eisley and tegan and sara were bad cause they were girls but great gig in the sky by pink floyd was cool

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SamuraiPunk
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I know that Eisley isn't for everyone. I still love this band and loving this band makes me a fan boy. I love Eisley so i can't hear this objectively. I don't think they don't like them but i don't think they care if they ever hear them again.
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Shadow Mouse
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wilsmith wrote:
kLafied wrote:


Big Ideas put that up in the first reviews there, here's what I said there, I still stand by.

wilsmith wrote:
^ They said Eisley is more well known than Tegan and Sara... Embarassed therefore, they either are Precognitive or FAIL.

It was interesting that the biggest gripes were:

Having Female Vocals
Sounding Pop, predictable pop song structures on a few tracks
Vocals contrasting with "Rocking out" and not being Emo or gruff enough to evoke the kind of emotion expected. (which contradicts their complimentary comments on dynamics, and their criticism of being predictable/ typical of pop)

But I think they aim to come of as a couple of "dudes" so that all makes sense in context. Music criticism, where our prejudices come to play Razz

Thast is an excellent point to a terrible review.

"If you can tolerate the female vocals..."

I can more than tolerate them. I think thier vocals are beautiful.
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grain thrower
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"WHICH IS AWESOME!" Laughing

Finally decided to watch this, interesting to hear some opinions about their new music coming from ears unfamiliar with Eisley. Obviously they are unfamiliar, thinking they are more well known than Tegan & Sara?? That was kinda funny.

I think what the guy on the left meant about the female vocals comment was that he was trying to encourage people who normally don't listen to female singers (and there are weirdos like that) to give them a try. He was very positive about it in the rest of his review.

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mad_sam_purple'ead
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not a bad review, as such, just two very ignorant men who had no idea what they were saying.
The whole thing was a ramble, and I have no idea whether they like it or not. Consider: "some of you may have heard of" and then, later, saying they're better known than Tegan and Sara.

"not that I avoid bands like Eisley, because I was pleasantly suprised by the album"

"extremely poppy" because there's "what, three female vocalists". So, like, every band with female vocals is poppy?

What ate me up was not the "if you can tolerate the female vocals" line - I can understand that - it's just a matter of taste. He didn't say it well, but I don't think he was saying that male vocals are better. Personally, for me to listen to a male-fronted band I guess i have to say "if I can tolerate the male vocals..."

Seems like they're slamming it because they don't like it, not because they have a solid reason.
"the harmonies are beautiful... they're a little too safe. a classic case of the vocalist worrying more about having that churchy, american idol, radio friendly voice than emoting, and I feel like... yaddayaddaya".
What does he even mean by that? emotions don't just come out in the vocals. a lot of pop over-emphasises emotions in the voice. One of the best vocals i can think of off the top of my head, There were Roses, sung by Cara Dillon, puts very little 'stress' on the actual words - because frankly they don't need to (look 'em up).

The first guy said it all, though, when he said right at the start that "i feel like that's the way I want to describe it, and I feel that's the way that the album was produced." That's right, sonny, you feel that because you know nothing about how it was made. You know nothing of Eisley, and you feel that because you feel like you're right, because you're putting your own interpretation on it, without considering anything else.

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wilsmith
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mad_sam_purple'ead wrote:


"extremely poppy" because there's "what, three female vocalists".

So, like, every band with female vocals is poppy?


Yeah, that quip worked on my nerves too. Worthy of the Battle of the Sexists thread.

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Shadow Mouse
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I thought it was a terrible review. Sad

I guess it was fine in that they were only expressing their opinion but it still made me cringe. I don't understand why having soft female voices with a rock background is a bad thing. It's called contrast (you may have heard about it Wink) and it has been quite common and effective in art.
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tahruh
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^I don't feel like that's what they were getting at, really.

"They're very conscious of dynamics and contrast...and I feel like Eisley does a great job...most of the time."

"Sad, Please -- a little predictable. But all in all, I was pleasantly surprised."

I think it was more or less about how it seems sort of safe vocally, and maybe a little bit overall.

I think they'd like Eisley to be a little more 'hardcore' about things, focusing more on the music and emotion, and less about retakes and sounding 'angelic', and I get what they're saying to a point, but I think that comes back to the glaring difference between Stacy and Sherri these days. I think Sherri would be better suited taking such advice, whereas Stacy is a true vocalist and has an entirely different aesthetic, where the music and image she creates suits such an emphasis on vocals. What I've noticed about Sherri is how her voice actually shines when she is completely enveloped in just 'rocking out'. In every video I've watched of their performances lately, she's sounded great, which didn't really translate to the album entirely, in my opinion.

That said, I think the vocals are much more integral to Eisley than the likes of Tegan and Sara. I don't advocate total abandonment, nor do I expect (or want) Eisley to turn into something like Hole or Elastica, but a lil' abandon might suit them...
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