4 Bands with Great Things in the Works - V27 Spring Preview 2004

EISLEY

There is something almost undefinably dreamy about Eisley. Whether it's the music they make, which itself is a kind of lilting, sparkly harmonious pop, or the fact that the five-member band (ages 15 to 22) incudes four siblings and their best friend, all hailing from Tyler, Texas, the band has a hypnotic quality that is nearly impossible to pin down. They're not only chaming but the very definition of charmed, having gone from playing in their parent's coffee shop in Texas to opening for Coldpay at Madison Square Garden in the space of about a year, all while only having released one 5-song EP, Laughing City. It's a little hard to know what to do with this band, whose sweet melodicism is more akin to The Sundays than Avril Lavigne. Teen they may be, teen pop they are not. The band could be dismissed by some as being just a little too precious, but they continue to win over even the most jaded of music snobs with their shows, which are not just cute (fresh faced Midwestern kids gently swaying behind their instruments), but also pretty rocking. Eisley have been playing together since they were little kids and all are shockingly accomplished musicians. So while label execs, British supergroups and Gwyneth Paltrow already love them, it seems that soon everyone will. After releasing a second EP, Marvelous Things, and trotting off across North America one more time, the band will head home to Texas and hang out with their friends for a while. This spring, after taking a much-deserved break, the band will record their first full-lenth record for Warner Brothers, which is set to arrive early this summer and, undoubtedly, conquer the world with it's sweetness.

SECRET MACHINES

The first time I saw Secret Machines I felt like I was on drugs. This is because I actually was on drugs, having smoked pot for the first time in about 3 years at with a stranger in line for the bathroom. After watching the band play an amazingly intense show, I left with the stunned feeling of having just had my mind totally blown by something utterly original and exciting. Or else I was just completely stoned. Not sure if it was really the show that had wowed me or just the herbal influence, I saw the band again a few months later and left feeling the same wayÐhypnotized, nearly deaf, and very happy. Secret Machines are an New York-based trio who originally hail from Dallas, Texas, where the members did time in bands like Captain Audio and the late, great Comet. After running away to the big city, the band released an independent EP, September 00, which, while musically interesting and occasionally quite beautiful, fails to capture the thunderous majesty of the band's live show. This is something they hope to rectify with their new record, Now Here is Nowhere, set for release this year. "We've spent the past three years in New York, just kind of absorbing everything. All the craziness is certainly reflected on this new record," says Brandon Curtis, who not only sings but also plays keyboard and bass (sometimes simultaneously) in the band. Along with his brother Ben (guitars and vocals), and Josh Garza (drums), the band produce a sound that is equal parts Pink Floyd and Velvet Undergound, without really sounding too much like either of those. They make sounds that are alternately serene and deafening, with a kind of spaciousness that hints at the band's Midwestern background, a sense of something big, open, ominous and endless.

I LOVE YOU BUT I'VE CHOSEN DARKNESS

Given the recent rediscovery and subsequent destruction of whatever was cool about retro-electronic music, it makes sense that so many bands are now looking even further back for musical styles to emulate and fabricate. While a host of American bands seem to be turning an ear towards crappy roots rock, there are still those who manage to explore the angular and somewhat minimalist guitar-pop leanings of bands like Joy Division and Gang of Four without sounding like a second rate Interpol. I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness are just such a band. With a smart indie-rock pedigree consisting of members of Windsor for the Derby and Paul Newman, the band recently released their first EP on Emperor Jones, a Texas indie known for releasing great guitar bands. Produced by Britt Daniel of Spoon, the eponymously titled I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness EP is a five song affair of sparse, jittery doom pop that hearkens back to bands like Slint and Bedhead, groups whose charm often came from their minimalism. The EP is, hopefully, a teaser for even greater things to come. The band will test these songs out on the road before reconvening to record a proper full-lenth this year. I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness is bedroom music, a record to listen to while you look out the window and contemplate what you aren't doing with your life. By the time time the final song, "Your Worst Is The Best" twinkles out, you'll wish it weren't really over. Press repeat.

emperorjones.com

PALAXY TRACKS

The fact that Palaxy Tracks haven't yet found a major audience or a major label to support them is both unbelievable and incredibly sad. They make some of the most lushly beautiful indie-rock of any band out there, period, and in 2003 they released one of the most gorgeous and heartbreaking records that nobody seemed to hear. That record is Cedarland, a plaintive little collection of songs that grows increasingly more addictive the more times you listen to it. The band originated in Austin, Texas and released, The Long Wind Down in 2000 before pulling up stakes and relocating to Chicago. Brandon Durham, the group's vocalist and principle songwriter, has a knowingness about his voice that seems immediately trustworthy, with songs that are deceptively simple and almost effortlessly catchy. The music on Cedarland ranges from the almost languid and country-esque, to straightforward, wall-of-sound guitar rock, with a host of guitars, pianos, and vintage organs shimmering throughout. It's immediate, simple, and haunting. Evidence of this bands greatness was made clear when, after seeing one too many aggressively fashionable bands tweak, twitter and make formless noise at this year's CMJ music festival in New York, Palaxy Tracks came on stage to play a lovely and completely unaffected set of songs, a potent reminder of just what kind of beautiful sounds can be made by a couple of guys with guitars and someone who knows how to write a good tune. Like a snapshot taken at twilight, their music is a photograph of a landscape caught at a beautiful, perpetual dusk.

palaxytracks.com

- T. Cole Rachel