EP1

This all-too-brief introduction to MossEisley opens with what has become a rarity: "Pretender," penned by Chauntelle DuPree, and featuring vocals by all three Eisley girls. It's an edgy, crisp pop song with the kind of hook that Avril Lavigne would kill to have written. But sprinkled throughout "Pretender" are some polysyllabic words you're not likely to hear on the local ClearChannel station: "demise" and "gibberish" both figure prominently in the verses. "Pretender" urges an estranged loved one to drop the façade and act real; the mention of "plastic ideals" suggests a spiritual undertone to the plea.

This heavy opener is followed by "Dream for Me," a rocker that bridges the gap between Pink Floyd and early Radiohead, but doesn't match "Pretender" for lyrical quality. The refrain, "Chase me down with your knife/I don't want to die," is sung in an eerie, Cranberries-esque harmonized wail that befits the dark tone of the song, while the peaceful outro wakes us from the nightmare. It's quite a soundscape, but there's still something intangible lacking in "Dream for Me."

The EP closes with "Blackened Crown," a constant fan-favorite. Opening with muted guitars and keys over an almost syncopated beat, "Blackened Crown" exemplifies the DuPree sisters' skill with metaphor. Its vaguely dissonant chord changes culminate in a driving climax, and then decay into ambient riffs. Lyrically and musically, "Blackened Crown" is one of the band's strongest tracks to date.

As with any band's first recording, EP1 does not represent MossEisley's, and later Eisley's, changing sound. The band have evolved and, for lack of a better term, softened up, but there are traces here of what was to come. Had Eisley continued making heavy, distortion-filled rock songs like the ones found on this EP, they might have a very different image today. Still, the songs found on EP1 are some of the band's most ambitious compositions and, though two of them have been abandoned in Eisley's recent recordings and performances, they have stood the test of time.