Eisley - The Valley (Equal Vision Records)

The scorned. The loss of love. The heartbreak of betrayal. Such are common themes in song-writing, and these themes have produced some stunning music, from Richard & Linda Thompson‘s Shoot Out the Lights, to Marvin Gaye’s Here, My Dear, Joni Mitchell‘s Blue and Ryan Adams’ Heartbreaker. These records resonate with blunt lyrics, plaintive singing, and straightforward themes. Add to this list, if you will, Texas-based Eisley, a band featuring the talents of the DuPree family. The Valley is their third record, one that was long in birthing, due to various issues—from disappointing, under-promoted albums, business hassles with former label Warner Brothers, to the more intense personal issues addressed here.

The Valley is a deceptively easy listen. Sisters Stacy and Sherri DuPree possess angelic voices—different enough to be distinct, but identical enough to cause confusion to the casual listener—and produce a two-part harmony that can occasionally be mistaken for double-tracking. In addition to their superior vocal abilities, both sisters can write innocently sweet-sounding songs that masquerade a painful lyrical content. For instance, “Smarter:” “Even though I miss you, I’m thankful,” sings elder sister Sherri, “it’s obvious that this one was futile/ So put your hands together and clap for the painful choice you’ve made ‘cause it’s right.” It’s easily the prettiest line of damnation you’ll hear this year, with younger sister Stacy adding ethereal harmonies that only confirm her decision as the right one. If that wasn’t winsome enough for you, continue listening; there’s “Mr. Moon,” a narrative that finds Sherri describing the moments after finding out about her lover’s betrayal. A string section here, loud guitars there—the band understand when loudness conveys the message, and when quietness will make things worse; if anything, the purity of essence found in their voice somehow makes the painful treatment at the hands of their former lovers seem utterly wrong, if not outright sinful.

The Valley is not the work of happy people; it begins with its most hopeful song—“The Valley,” describing the magic and joy of new love, but only increases its intensity as the album continues—-“Watching it Die,” with its chorus of “my love for you has died tonight, I don’t know how to own you,” is about as straightforward as you’re going to get—concluding with its bleakest numbers; final song “Ambulance” describes being thrown out of your home with just a suitcase, and offers no resolution. Yet even though you are left wondering what happens next, one gets the feeling that all will, eventually, be okay.

Diving into the affairs of the heart is risky, and runs the potential of self-indulgence; the DuPree sisters, however, understand just how painful love can be, and thankfully, they use their personal struggles to produce an uplifting yet hard record that is perfectly fitted for life’s sadder moments, one that consoles and documents without self-pity. For a band that has been through the ringer on almost every conceivable level, Eisley have survived, emerging from their sea of tears with one of the best albums of 2011.