The new Eisley album is great.

I was nervous about it, but it turns out it is awesome.

Based on the sound clips I heard I was both intrigued and scared. The songs sounded edgier than the first album, which I usually feel is a good thing, but on the other hand I didn’t get that sense of wonder that pretty much every song on Room Noises evokes.

I can safely say that Combinations doesn’t quite have the same dreamlike quality of Room Noises, but it does maintain that element of their style and like I anticipated, a lot of the songs actually are edgier. There are some genuinely hard guitar riffs in here and even some rough (for the Eisley girls) vocals. Overall the whole thing sounds really tight and all the songs are really well written. Also, don’t get the impression the whole thing is a hard rock album, there’s definitely lots of smooth enchanting stuff here too that’s very reminiscent of Room Noises.

I have absolutely no desire to see them live though. I’ve seen them twice and although their performance is a spectacle to behold, they attract the most maddeningly dull crowds of prepubescant wankers, and with the new attention they’re recieving I have no doubt they will continue to attract this crowd even more. =/

I look forward to the day when this stupid pretend indie fad passes and shows like Eisley will be safe again.

All that said, a better indie rock album, Reunion Tour by The Weakerthans, is coming out September 25 and is also leaked. I’m mostly just going to be listening to that for the next several months.