The Verdict

Well people of the internation, the verdict is in! Eisley's Combinations wins... After listening through the likes of Eisley's latest work and Singularity by Mae, I cannot help but compare the two and choose a winner.

The reality is, Combinations is a strikingly original work of art that gleans influences from Stevie Nicks to Alanis Morissette and even moments of Sarah McLachlan while never straying from the oh so tasty indie song writing structures. The vocal stylings of Chantalle and Sherri DuPree could melt the wallpaper off a Civil War era plantation house and each song seems like it should be the theme of the next Zach Braff drug-downer-satire-comedy flick (e.g. Garden State). Moreover, the production quality of producer Richard Gibbs and his Malibu studio kills anything I've heard this year.

On the flip side, Singularity glides through ears, brain and out the other side without ever stopping for a truly memorable moment. Not to surprisingly, since signing to Capitol and scrapping their previously written material due to it's lack of radio-a-promotion-ability, the result is just a more clever Yellowcard with better tones and melodies. Now I will listen to it over and over for the next couple weeks in my car and have all the songs in my head for months to come, but what happened to the Mae I used to know writing story-book themed albums with interactive liner notes and a true dedication to the meaning of their acronym name (Multi-sensory Ascetic Experience). In the end... its good... but thats about it. I will throw down positive vibes for the song Just Let Go which I feel is one of the better pop-rock songs of the year.

Eisley: A-
Mae: C+

Peace, NcB.