Indie darlings Eisley’s third full-length album, The Valley makes no bones about its subject matter. Reportedly inspired by singer Sherri DuPree’s split from Chad Gilbert, of emo band New Found Glory, the album pulls out all the stops and vocalists Sherri and Stacy DuPree don’t hold back when it comes to saying what they think. Backed by the rest of the band, two other Dupree siblings and a cousin, Stacy and Sherri pound out their angriest lyrics yet, tempered by beautiful harmonies and nuanced musical arrangements. The songs have great emotional and musical range that display the constant changes in sadness, fury, and contemplation that come with heartache and personal turmoil. Nowhere is this more evident than on “Better Love,” with a hardrock edge and vocal crescendos that effectively showcase Sherri’s emotional lyrics. More stripped-down tracks, like “I Wish” and “Kind,” continue to show the range of musical and lyrical depth of the record, but The Valley‘s real standout songs are Sherri’s despair-filled anthems, “Watch it Die” bring out the rawness in Sherri’s lyrics, and shine when coupled with Stacy’s harmonies and angry guitar. “Smarter” stings with lyrics like “So put your hands together and clap for/ The painful choice you’ve made ’cause it’s right.” Eisley has been consistently under-hyped since their debut, 2005’s Room Noises, but The Valley proves that pretty voices have something to say, and the DuPree family knows how to bring the message home.
