Radio Clips
Easterly was featured on
KWVA Radio's Snap Crackle Pop! on July 29th. If you didn't get a chance to tune into the show, here are the clips.
Waiting Game
Saturn
Wicked Conversation
Getting Back Together
Stoned Alone
Here
Press Kit
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PRINT material
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CD cover image for
WEB material
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Reviews
Originally released a year ago on Not Lame Records, this Salem, Oregon band's debut album sold out in a few short months! Thankfully, it was picked up by Wizzard In Vinyl of Japan, and reissued with a few bonus tracks! The songs on this album have a quality similar to the Pernice Brothers, Brendan Benson and later Teenage Fanclub - the music alternates between upbeat songs (like "Blister" and "Wicked Conversation") and slower, more melancholic ones (like "One Of These Days" and the album's excellent opener, "Lover Is Fine"), while the lyrics tend to be quite bittersweet throughout. Many of the songs are catchy and likeable right from the start, but some of the slower songs (particularly the six minute long "Only So Much") tend to drag a bit. This version's four bonus tracks consist of two remixes of the better album tracks ("If You Knew" and "Wicked Conversation") by T.W. Walsh, as well as two outtakes from the album: one good ("The One"), one not so good ("Coming Home").
www.indiepages.com
Noah Hall's songs are tinged with quiet melancholy, reflecting on love and broken relationships and even a broader general malaise with a wisdom borne of experience. His soft vocal delivery and classical pop music canvas invite comparisons to that of singer/songwriter Joe Pernice (The Pernice Brothers), aptly. Hall is the talented creative wunderkind behind Easterly, whose eponymous debut contains ten impressive tracks of soothing, guitar-layered contemplative smart rock.
When Noah expanded his solo act to include a band that could translate his songs, he needed a name. "Noah Hall & Oats" was rejected, wisely, avoiding possible lawsuits. In the end, it was a suggestion by fellow musician and friend Angie Heaton that stuck. She liked the way meteorologists described weather patterns, particularly directional names. Being from the West (Salem, Oregon) the group decision was to go with "Easterly."
The band is comprised of Hall (vocals, guitar, keyboard), Andy Douthit (guitar), Kerry Kincanon (bass), Dan Miles (drums, guitar) and Paul Brady (piano, keyboards). Flynn Nisbet is credited with providing energy, art and ambiance and guitarist Larry Adams has since joined the group (but isn't featured on the CD).
The real treat here is the music. In no way does this betray itself as a debut - these guys sound like time-tested veterans. The music comes across as knowingly familiar right from the first note -- the beleaguered stances of the narrative ring true.
The CD opens with "A Lover Is Fine," a softly endearing melody that espouses a twist from the usual needs: "No one can say how long it will last / You'd think that someday we might learn from the past / Only one thing is for certain / It will happen again / And a lover is fine when you can't find a friend."
The harmonies draw you into the bouncy upbeat blues-rocker "Blister." This song serves as lyrical invitation for the hope of sin, as the singer declares he'd be "proud to fall" should the call come.
Truly awful relationships and their inexplicable appeal is the topic matter of "Wicked Conversation." Hall manages to convey both sides of this ghastly equation in lyrics that speak directly: "Obsessive and repulsive / uneven eyes and damaged hair / What a fucking perfect pair / Who said life's not fair? / Not me, couldn't be / I love your faults and frailty."
"Getting Back Together" is an upbeat tune for the angry, disappointed and downtrodden in love. Bitter compromise is the order of the day here, a man resolved to give up on love and getting back together with "the girl that I was married to before." It's not exactly bliss he's heading toward, but "there's something to be said for being comfortable enough."
Rejection leads to anger and frustration and a desire for vengeance. That's the familiar terrain of the ballad "One Of These Days." Hall again shows his gift for capturing the feelings directly: "One of these days I want to break a heart / And I hope it's you."
Once upon a time, Noah Hall attended Yale Divinity, where he considered becoming an Episcopal man of the cloth. His experiences there -- his battles with epistemology -- still surface in many of these lyrics. In "The River," a pretty melody couches a call for baptismal soul-saving for his sins, but in the end there's no satisfaction: "I still don't know for sure if all this loss was worth the lesson / How come I still don't feel pure?"
The song that best portrays his battle with religion and how it didn't provide inner fulfillment is the album's centerpiece "Happiness." While sounding somewhat upbeat (nice guitar-driven melody and harmonies), the lyrics reveal a rather bleak epiphany: "Contentment can't fill me / Desire won't thrill me / His spirit isn't stilling me / And happiness is killing me."
"Only So Much" is another slower song, a sweet exploration of the limits of forgiveness, understanding and second chances. Hall's vocal work is moody and evocative here, gripping you with its emotional truth.
"If You Knew" is a short, melodic wake-up call, providing more advice than sympathy.
"Blame Cupid," the closer, sounds like it could be an Aimee Mann song, embittered and harsh in summarizing what's gone on: "You can blame it on the bad choices / or the voices you hear / You're not crazy, you're stupid / So blame Cupid for one fucked-up year."
Easterly is an auspicious beginning for Noah Hall and his cohorts. Hall manages to counter his sometimes sullen and oft bitter lyrical forays with lush, strikingly beautiful melodies and vocals. There's intelligence behind the songwriting, and a soft emotional honesty that draws you in and keeps you there, track to track. These aren't just fictions - you believe he's fought the battles - and the pretty arrangements and production find the right balance to present these songs in sensitive, endearing ways.
Fans of The Pernice Brothers will find a kindred spirit here, but if you like the idea of contrasting soothing music with harsher lyrics, then Easterly's for you. The quality will have you questioning the fact that it's a debut, but ultimately will leave you begging to hear more soon. As the Easterly front approaches, the forecast is very good.
GARY GLAUBER www.fufkin.com
The opening licks of Easterly's impressive debut (and especially the trance-like hypnotics of tracks such as "Only So Much" take me back to the mid to late 1980s when Galaxie 500 were blowing my mind. While comparisons to the Pernice Brothers are certainly apt for this Portland-based outfit, especially on tracks such as "Wicked Conversation",Noah Hall crafts his distinct brand of catchy pop melodies and harmonies that certainly sound refreshing against the inflated expectations of last year's underwhelming release by The Thorns. Hall played as a solo performer prior to forming Easterly (who opted not to call themselves "Noah Hall and Oats" for fear of legal retribution) and he even toyed with the idea of becoming an Episcopal minister prior to pursuing music as a career which certainly adds an additional layer of meaning to such lyrics as "I was hopin' you'd take me to the river and when we get there you'd hold me under." One of the album's strongest numbers, "Happiness," was self-released as an EP earlier this year. "Contentment can't fill me/Desire won't thrill me. Happiness is killing me." And if it has to, I could think of worse ways to go out than enjoying Easterly's elusive charms.
EDWARD BURCH www.thepaperwebsite.com
Some pop is unfairly labelled as easy listening because it isn't "in your face" power pop. US five-piece Easterly could get tarred with this brush, as they write polite, low key pop songs with some subtle touches that can pass you by on the first couple of listens. The first song, 'Lover Is Fine', is a case in point. On first hearing it was fairly anonymous. By the third play the quiet strengths of the tune are apparent. The best songs on this album are slow to medium paced and brooding, such as the lengthy 'Only So Much'. The piano and keyboard parts of Noah Hall and Paul Brady are impressive, and the vocals are pleasant without being distinctive. It isn't clear if lead vocalist Hall also does all the backing vocals, as none of the other members gets a vocal credit.
PHIL SUGGITT www.shindig-magazine.com
I was talking with my brother about the band Easterly and about its brainchild, lead guitarist and vocalist, Noah Hall. I described their music, a definite late eighties / early nineties singer /songwriter feel, a little Britpop, and a lot of talent. A photographer who happened to be taking pictures of my brother's band asked, "Do they sound like Kiss?" I was befuddled. Huh? Where did that come from? I asked him to explain. "Well, because of the name of the band," he replied. "Easterly?" I queried. "Oh," he said, "I thought you said Ace Frehley!" We all had a good laugh which led me to tell them Noah's first choice for the band's name, Noah Hall & Oates.
All of this has little to do with Easterly's self-titled debut album, other than my own original description. It's just kind of a funny story, but relevant in the sense that Hall's lyrics are clever and witty, much like the `accidental' mishearing of the band's name. Rather than funny, however, Easterly's songs are, like so many other good songs, drenched in reality and sadness. Almost every song is about a broken heart, a lost love, or the foreshadowing of such things to come. What makes this album successful, as it does for other artists of this ilk, is Hall's earnestness.
Hall's voice is falsetto sweetness which belies the tragedy in each song. One is lulled into a sense of calm and tranquility by the gentle pop harmonies, not knowing until dissecting the lyrics, that each lyric reveals pain. If you combine the vocal style of the Pernice Brothers, the poppy catches of Fountains of Wayne, and the tenderness of Matthew Sweet, you'll come pretty close to describing Easterly. Luckily for me, I was given a copy of the newly pressed Japanese version of the CD, complete with four bonus songs. I have also heard some compositions in the rough that could either become part of the sophomore Easterly effort, or a possible solo project for Hall. Easterly is a band on the rise and should get the attention it truly deserves. Fans of Rogue Wave, Elliott Smith, and some of the more songwriter based eighties music should take note.
One of the standout tracks for me was "One of These Days". Although it's the shortest song on the album, Hall is at his darkest and most emotional with this song, and utters lines like, "One of these days I want to break a heart, and I hope it's you." As he sing / shouts the second half of the refrain, you feel the anger and resentment along with Hall and start to recall your own past hurtful relationships. Part of Hall's gift is bringing the listener along with him for the emotional journey of life, love and heartache. On the next track, "Happiness", you get another memorable turn of phrases, "Contentment can't fill me, desire won't thrill me, the spirit isn't stilling me, and happiness is killing me."
As I have the Japanese copy, I had access to one of those fold-over CD caps that comes wrapped in the package, you know, the ones that Ryko used to put on their CD's? Well, this one has a heck of a lot of Japanese characters interrupted by only a few English words, Easterly, Velvet Crush, Matthew Sweet, Teenage Fanclub, Fountains of Wayne, Pernice Brothers, Zombies, and Beatles. Those are some pretty heavy bands to compare Easterly with, and they deserve every one of them.
Similar Albums: The La's- The La's Fountains of Wayne- Utopia Parkway Teenage Fanclub- Bandwagonesque
TERRANCE TERICH 01.09.2005 www.treblezine.com
