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tungsten
Sea Post King


So, Currents is over a year old and wondering how it has settled in with people. It's still in heavy rotation in my car. Initially I was sort of confused with the record, loving some of it but not sure what do with parts of it.

I think my favorites on the album are Drink the Water and Real World. Tracks that have really grown on me are Wicked Child and Currents. I didn't like title-track Currents at first, but after the acoustic pandora performance and seeing it live (as an energetic rocker in the vein of Invasion or Smarter), it's really grown on me. It's a solid song that took a while to reveal its intricacies. I think the two moments on the album that convey the most musical 'growth' are the bridge on 'Save My Soul' and the Sherri-Stacy vocal ending on 'Blue Fish'. Still think 'Drink the Water' emerges as the strongest song.

Find Me Here, Wonder English, and The Night Comes are still big "mehs" for me. They're not bad songs at all, but for whatever reason just don't do much for me. Wondering if the band realizes this is not their strongest material as well since they did not perform any of these on the last two tours with Currents material. It seemed like the album lost its way a little bit on its second half, foregoing it's water theme for the most part and trying to pull in 'old Eisley' vibes.
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olimario
Laughing Citizen


Sadly it is my least listened to Eisley album by far. Merriment and Sucre have been pumping out better music in my opinion.
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The Man In The Moon
Lost at Forum


i think it's a polarizing album now. i think the first half and second half could've been halves of two completely different albums. wonder english and real world are still no's to me.

the self-titled track is great. that one's grown on me a lot as well. same with drink the water.

i say that the two halves are polarizing because the switch from real world to wicked child just doesn't hit my ear very well.

overall, i think this is probably their most liberating album, but i don't think it's focused as well as room noises, the valley, and deep space. i said it before, and i'll say it again. currents isn't a bad album, but it does sound like the band doesn't quite know what to do with their established sound anymore.

i'm waiting for sherri to do her own solo thing. i feel like her stuff will be a little more rock oriented than stacy's and chauntelle's which is what i usually lean more towards. i'm looking forward to rising fawn too. merriment isn't terrible, but i just can't get into it. sucre seems like it might be promising.

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wilsmith
Vintage Newbie


I seldom listen to albums more than 3 times when they are new because of the variety of stuff I have coming in regularly, but I was able to repeatedly listen to Currents in whole. I really enjoyed it and the differences between the two sides brought different energy which made coming back around again refreshing.

I would have to say that the the middles two songs stand on their own apart from the rest of the material, and I think that messed with the flow. I Love Millstone and Real World is a solid song (it makes me feel like I'm in a rut though, which is not good.) I think the curve balls of the "b-side" are less off putting than the trifecta of Save My Soul (that bridge tho'), Millstone, and Real World. They all stand apart so starkly. It make sense because no only are there 3 different vocalists, but 3 different types and styles of songs. Oddly Enough Wicked Child brings in Merriment and another style so those 4 songs as a whole are what I think throws people off the most. The album seems to lock into a focus starting on Wicked Child though.

Shelter is still possibly my favorite, but When the Night Comes is excellent in how it builds to its groove. Sherri is really great at doing that lately, when you consider Mr. Moon, Deep Space, and One Last Song.

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The Man In The Moon
Lost at Forum


wilsmith wrote:
Mr. Moon, Deep Space, and One Last Song.


which is why i've enjoyed most of sherri's songs more over the last few years. songs to me that aren't perfect by her are many funerals, a sight to behold (according to demo), and the bridge of mr. moon, but at the same time i feel that she takes more risks than her sisters in songwriting; that keeps things dynamic and interesting in it's own right i think.

i didn't notice the transition of the 4 songs till now. though, i feel christie and stacy have very similar vocal styles compared to chauntelle and sherri. also, i think the second half definitely flows better than the first half, but again it feels like two different albums combined together. i think wonder english would've worked better on deep space instead of 192 days, but that's just me. or perhaps it might've even on currents if lights out came before it. in listening to wonder english by itself right now, it's not terrible, just not best complimented by the song flow. also, i feel it has a sunny day real estate vibe to it too.

-edit-

just tried transitioning wonder english after deep space and it works beautifully.

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wilsmith
Vintage Newbie


I think all their voices compliment each other in the flow and it's the thread that ties the songs together. I think the disparate styles and production is what interferes with the continuity a bit, but that's nothing new for Eisley albums. Their albums have always been a little bit of everything whereas the EPs have been more or less seamless with exceptions here or there.

Also, I remember them talking about getting excited about song ideas and messaging each other while they were out on tours with side projects etc. right before Deep Space came out. So I'm wondering if the songs that fed off that vibe (I would say Currents and Drink the Water sound like they came directly from that inspiration, and maybe others, I'll have to go back and listen) are creating some of the tension. I definitely feel those two songs are kissing cousins of Deep Space (mainly the choruses) and Laugh It Off respectively, and Blue Fish could be the distant relative of Light's Out because they are both waltzes with nice vocal breakdowns at the end.

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Nowhere Man
Vintage Newbie


I think it's one of their best albums. I really like Room Noises too though. Thankfully I don't have to choose.

The Man In The Moon wrote:
wonder english and real world are still no's to me.

Real World really? I figured everyone loved that. Stacy's voice.. 'nuff said. Wonder English has that kinda dissonant bridge part that I'm guessing may turn some people off but I think it's cool. And I friggin love the "Hey, la la, Hey, oh oh" and the lead guitar break, come on it's awesome! Wonder English is a great song. Smile

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The Man In The Moon
Lost at Forum


Nowhere Man wrote:
I think it's one of their best albums. I really like Room Noises too though. Thankfully I don't have to choose.

The Man In The Moon wrote:
wonder english and real world are still no's to me.

Real World really? I figured everyone loved that. Stacy's voice.. 'nuff said. Wonder English has that kinda dissonant bridge part that I'm guessing may turn some people off but I think it's cool. And I friggin love the "Hey, la la, Hey, oh oh" and the lead guitar break, come on it's awesome! Wonder English is a great song. Smile


I've decided I do like wonder English after placing it after lights out and deep space. I love find me here but wonder English doesn't sit well following such a mellow song. It works best following a rocker.

As for real world it just feels cheesy to me.

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CBmp3
Sea Post King


I don't think it was until after I saw them on the Currents tour that I started listening to this album just completely on repeat. For what must have been at least two weeks straight I listened to this more or less front to back.

Highlights for me are...

Ok, actually I'm looking at the tracklisting and I'm seriously finding it hard to name highlights without naming practically the whole album.

So...here are the highlights of the highlights:

Blue Fish
Save My Soul
Millstone
Lost Enemies
Shelter

As much as I love "Millstone," I did start to feel a little bored or sick of it after awhile, but I usually don't feel that way, so I don't know how to explain that.

"Blue Fish" is still absolutely astounding to me.

I think this band should be so proud of this entire record.

Especially after releasing The Valley, which I think is pretty 'radio-friendly," which is not to say that it is simple, but just that I think it's very easy to like.

I think Currents is such a bold statement and I remember telling a friend of mine when this came out, something along the lines of, "I can't believe they did this, but it's so awesome and I'm so happy they did. Very different from The Valley, which is amazing to me that they'd follow up a record so amazing with another record maybe equally amazing, yet completely different. Can't wait til they tour.

And of course, the tour ruled.

So happy.

Love this band, right?

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wilsmith
Vintage Newbie


Yup Love

I definitely feel like this album was sequenced for Vinyl, with a traditional A Side and B Side that are distinctly unique. That may be lost on people used to the CD era and playlists that flow throughout.

For me, and I'm dating myself, but:

A sides always equaled: AM (Time of day) or FM (radio)

B sides always equaled PM or AM (radio)


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I only have one reservation with Eisley, and it's something they seem to have moved away from, and that's putting a chorus in every song. Some of their songs build to choruses that don't always flatter the verses and bridges. Sometimes the choruses shift the tone in a way that makes you relish the verses and bridges, sometime it subverts them completely by making it sound like the chorus came first and the verses and bridges were embellishments to make it a full song. The same can be said for bridges as well.

I think Save My Soul is an example of a song that could be 3, and each have parts that flatter the others rather than the 3 discordant sections.

On the other hand most of the songs on Currents mingle their parts together near seamlessly and that's part of why I love them.

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tungsten
Sea Post King


I think Save My Soul suffers a little bit from their attempts to make it a thunderous rocker. The chorus seems like such a huge shift from the verses and the bridge. 'Sad' was a better effort I think at being an all around heavier song, the transition into the chorus on that one felt natural, less jarring. Acoustic Save My Soul works better I think.
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tungsten
Sea Post King


Maybe if Save My Soul had been dialed down to a 'Better Love' decibel it would have functioned better . . . i think their heaviest sounds make more sense on darker tracks like 'Many Funerals', 'Smarter', or 'Sad'.
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wilsmith
Vintage Newbie


I always felt that Smarter's verses worked really well for the content, but chorus pulled it to another tone melodically that lost the grit and muscle, but I understand why they did that. I would have loved to have a chorus like Heads Against the Sky of Over the Mountains, but on both those songs they do the exact opposite, verses that have a less pensive tone with a trance-like quality that rocks out for the chorus. So Smarter almost flips that, but doesn't chill on the chorus.

Sad flows really smoothly from verse to chorus, but those verses are almost like a disco rock track in an understated way. It lends itself well to dancing and Weston is actually doing a augmented disco type beat. The chorus takes up in a really good way that delivers the goods. It came a long way from being "the R.E.M. song" they demoed in the Eiswood sessions. That guitar part would actually make for a cool medley with Currents' chorus

Better Love, one of my favorite rockers of theirs, from verse, bridge, to chorus goes a few different places quickly, all of the great. The verse reminds me of U2 circa War, the bridge sounds like the Y2k indie rock update on that sound which is also equally a early 90s post-rock staple, and the Chorus feels like a soaring 80s pop rock masterpiece, which the solo builds on.

Many Funerals is a great example of taking two completely different styles and time signatures that sound different but of a similar vintage, and blending them with a touch of modern flair and creating something new and compelling, and then there's the post-chorus that reminds me of Hazy Shade of Winter. And then that bridge... Presaging Light's Out and Blue Fish.

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tungsten
Sea Post King


Save My Soul kind of sits on that line between sadness and hope (and how they are intertwined) a bit like Better Love. They are definitely brighter than 'Smarter' or 'Sad', but not completely sorrow free. I think they are tracks showing Sherri at more hopeful moments though (light at the end of the tunnel songs so to speak).
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wilsmith
Vintage Newbie


Sherri can rock out hopefully- http://youtu.be/RwXT951UwRM they missed the beginning of the song cause Sherri typically would just tear into this one without warning.

full song with a proper introduction https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhEgis2N0ZE

I would say this and Marvelous Things are the proper Anthems of the Eisley catalog for me. There are so many I love, but when it comes to personifying what's most important about Eisley to me, those two exemplify it. I connect with they way they give voice to how much family is valued, and how people are there to lift each other up through the darkest of times and have hope. That is something that makes Eisley unique, because it doesn't seem to come from any place other than the heart.

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