Spring Break
Denton-based Eli Young Band rises up
Melissa Crowe
Issue date: 9/19/08 Section: ARTS & LIFE
The gritty base lines and vocals in track six, "Throw and Go," written by Eli and Young, put listeners in a trance: "Turn up the volume, take it up a notch." The song is nearly perfect for a quick escape until the bubble bursts in track seven, "Guinevere."
Eli and Young collaborated with Scooter Carusoe, the man responsible for Kenny Chesney's "Better as a Memory," which holds the No. 12 spot on Billboard's Hot Country Recurrents chart.
Immediately, listeners are brought back to the "cry right along with the rain" sap from the lead track, "When it Rains." However, that song, which was also on the 2005 album "Level," brought numerous opportunities to the band, including a 38th position on Billboard's Hot Country Song chart.
"'When it Rains' is a big part of what we have done in our career and has kind of spanned, you know, directed the last five years of everything we have done," Eli said.
The rest of the tracks range from confused love ballads, "Anytime you think you wanna be my love, stop asking, get in the car and drive," to heavy distortion guitar in segments of "How Should I Know."
At any moment, one might expect Eli's vocals to suddenly degenerate into words burdened with madness. The title song "Jet Black and Jealous" features Young on mandolin and Eli with some heart-breaking puns: "I can't lean on you 'cause I fall right over/Can't count on you; it doesn't add up."
This album is country for a new generation.
"We don't necessarily fit in, but we fit in," Jones said. "Radio has embraced us and our sound."
Before signing with Universal Records about nine months ago, Eli Young Band shared the stage with Dave Matthews Band, Sheryl Crow and John Mellencamp. It also grossed more than $1.7 million, sold more than 100,000 tickets and played more than 200 dates last year.
Catch the group at the Austin Ventures stage at the Austin City Limits Festival on Friday, Aug. 26, at Zilker Park in Austin.
"Here it is eight years later, and our heads are still kind of spinning from all that has gone on," Young said.
No matter what happens, they say Denton will always be the home of Eli Young Band.
"It's where we started it," Thompson said. "Twenty years down the road on our gear it's always going to say, 'Eli Young Band: Denton, Texas.'"
Eli and Young collaborated with Scooter Carusoe, the man responsible for Kenny Chesney's "Better as a Memory," which holds the No. 12 spot on Billboard's Hot Country Recurrents chart.
Immediately, listeners are brought back to the "cry right along with the rain" sap from the lead track, "When it Rains." However, that song, which was also on the 2005 album "Level," brought numerous opportunities to the band, including a 38th position on Billboard's Hot Country Song chart.
"'When it Rains' is a big part of what we have done in our career and has kind of spanned, you know, directed the last five years of everything we have done," Eli said.
The rest of the tracks range from confused love ballads, "Anytime you think you wanna be my love, stop asking, get in the car and drive," to heavy distortion guitar in segments of "How Should I Know."
At any moment, one might expect Eli's vocals to suddenly degenerate into words burdened with madness. The title song "Jet Black and Jealous" features Young on mandolin and Eli with some heart-breaking puns: "I can't lean on you 'cause I fall right over/Can't count on you; it doesn't add up."
This album is country for a new generation.
"We don't necessarily fit in, but we fit in," Jones said. "Radio has embraced us and our sound."
Before signing with Universal Records about nine months ago, Eli Young Band shared the stage with Dave Matthews Band, Sheryl Crow and John Mellencamp. It also grossed more than $1.7 million, sold more than 100,000 tickets and played more than 200 dates last year.
Catch the group at the Austin Ventures stage at the Austin City Limits Festival on Friday, Aug. 26, at Zilker Park in Austin.
"Here it is eight years later, and our heads are still kind of spinning from all that has gone on," Young said.
No matter what happens, they say Denton will always be the home of Eli Young Band.
"It's where we started it," Thompson said. "Twenty years down the road on our gear it's always going to say, 'Eli Young Band: Denton, Texas.'"
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