Eisley, Lincoln Hall, Chicago

Texan indie-pop family-band Eisley seem to be pleasantly coming of age on their latest ten-city Mild Mild Midwest tour jaunt. Without a full-length album in nearly three years to back this most recent outing, it was questionable as to what sort of impression the band would put forth. As a group whose older material melodically swims and swells between cutesy escapist fairy tales and sorrowful Juliet-perspective tragedies this tour was in many ways a make or break showcase for the band’s progression of sound. This is not to say that without signs of musical maturation that Eisley’s show would have been a failure, but it would have been an absolute shame to see a band with their potential sonically stagnate on what seems to be a long-awaited career upswing.

Thankfully, as the evening at Lincoln Hall pleasantly unfolds all members of Eisley are clearly focused well beyond the label mistreatment they received from Warner Brothers and their past relationship problems. The band is polished, potent and not without their signature whimsical charm.

As they take the stage and glide into ‘Golly Sandra’ it is clear that despite a fairly dormant couple of years Eisley still have a definite diehard following. The venue is nowhere near capacity but those in attendance more than make up for the empty space by belting out nearly every word that leaves the DuPree sisters’ lips. The crowd-induced reverb gets so intense at a number of points during the opening half of the evening that guitarist / vocalist Sherri Kay has to cutely call to her sound tech to have the monitors adjusted to compensate.

The night progresses and the band slip into a comfortable groove as they deliver fan favorites like ‘Mister Pine,’ ‘Telescope Eyes,’ and ‘Marvelous Things’ and ‘Combinations.’ Unfortunately, Eisley skip on showcasing any of the unreleased songs from their forthcoming LP3. However, it is clear that the newer material from the ‘Fire Kite’ EP, ‘The Valley’ and perfect show closer ‘Ambulance,’ are where the band and crowd’s excitement peaks.

Despite the band’s decision to still draw heavily from past records, the material they settle on for their Lincoln Hall performance has a definite sense of forward-looking freshness. The presentation of songs from ‘Room Noises’ and ‘Combinations’, regardless of being played hundreds of times before, seem richer and hoisted up with a renewed sense of personal resonance. Their set plays out more like a complete story than a collection of short fairy tales. Maybe it is in part due to the fact they are headlining the tour this time through Chicago, but Chauntelle, Sherri Kay and Stacy DuPree all deliver with more poise, precision and a sense of genuine enjoyment than when opening for Say Anything this past October. Most notably, it is lead vocalist / keyboardist Stacy who seems truly straightforward and confident in her ability to stun the venue with her powerful vocal ability.

This revived presentation of old material has seemed to shake of some of the overbearing crunch rock punch lines and slower Rhodes-led melancholy that sometimes suggests dated, more niche-based material. Eisley has unquestionably beautiful melodies and soaring harmonies but sometimes these become a bit lost in the effort to deliver a sort of crunching catharsis which, at times, actually flattens their songs. The band is at their best when their music crescendos in a swelling tizzy of emotion like Florence & The Machine or Radiohead rather than with an overdriven punkish stomp to grunge. Guitarists Sherri Kay and Chauntelle still clearly impress the crowd with their unique onstage dynamic and ability to both lead and perfectly play off each other.

Eisley truly put on a solid performance at Lincoln Hall that in many ways defines their position on the cusp of future relevance. While the band’s beautiful ethereal dreaming need not be abandoned to make progress, their whimsical romanticisms must also recall reality, relevance, and a sense of forward thinking to truly speak future volumes. If these girls fully deliver on what promises to be their most rounded and deeply personal album fans will have even more reason to go catch a truly enjoyable show.

Photos: Eisley, Lincoln Hall, Chicago.