The Eames Era

Instantly satisfying pop music that glides. The folks in The Eames Era play clean unrestricted pop music that with hooks galore. These four tunes are journeys into modern feelgood pop. The playing is tight and simple...the vocals right on target...and the sound just polished enough to make the music shine. This band might best be summed up in a word: Effervescent. Our only complaint? After these four tunes ended...we wanted to hear more. This is a great little EP from an excellent up-and-coming pop quintet. Includes "Could Be Anything," "All of Seventeen," "You May Not Know My Name," and "I Said." GREAT UPBEAT POP. (Rating: 5+)
- Babysue.com

The Eames Era are students of a time when all you really needed to get by in the music world was a good hook and a pretty melody. On their second ep, cleverly titled 2nd EP, the Eames Era show themselves to have mastered a not entirely original, but certainly fun brand of jangle pop. The four songs on the EP range from brilliant ("Could Be Anything") to the mildly forgettable ("I Said") but when they land on the brilliant side of that equation you'd better be prepared to spend the rest of the day with a song stuck in your head. It may be a curse or a blessing but lead singer Ashlin Phillips sounds so much like Liz Phair that songs like "Could Be Anything" and "All Of Seventeen" will inevitably draw comparisons to Phair's recent pop rock hits. Depending on your feelings towards Phair's monster hit producing Liz Phair these comparisons will either make you rush out to purchase The 2nd EP or ignore it altogether. Ignoring it would be a mistake.
- Popmatters.com

I'm always embarrassed to bring my non-initiated friends to their first underground rock concert. I've gotten used to the no-dance, clap-only-if-everyone-else-does attitude of my Chicago home base, but for those used to No Doubt and Weezer, a trip to see good-natured rock bands like the Walkmen or the Constantines can be a jarring experience. I remember one friend, after seeing the Unicorns at a sold-out show, ask me, "Did anyone even want to be there?" I had trouble answering her question.

Face it: there's not much actual fun in the underground music universe. It is a microcosm based on points and hierarchy. Did you see Black Dice? Oh, you did? Well, when did you see them? Yeah, when I saw them I got their tour-only split with the Sweaty Envelopes.*

Well, the Eames Era probably haven't heard of Black Dice; and if they have, they don't care if you've bought their earliest 12" off eBay. The Eames Era are just a great dance-pop band with no pretension, filling that extra-space inside their hearts with eagerly strummed guitars and catchy back-up vocals.

Listening to The Second EP, it's easy to picture this New Orleans quintet bopping around on a small stage bright with a dozen multi-colored lights. In my Eames Era fantasy, the band rips through the better-than-the-Go-Go's of "I Said" while smiling and looking at each other as if to say, "Yeah! This sounds really cool! I love this song!" No, check that. In my fantasy they say, "Yeah! This sounds really neat!"

Each of the four songs brims with real enthusiasm and fun. Lead singer Ashley Phillips eschews the over-the-top sexiness many indie women have gone for recently, instead sounding like a teenager whose greatest wish is to sing in her older brother's rock band. The cheeriness and light-hearted fervor of her voice would carry these songs if they weren't already floating away on such catchy and supremely tight instrumentation. The guitars on each track have a beautiful surf-jangle sound, and the bass pops with melody lines worthy of the best singles of the 1950s.

Later in my Eames Era fantasy, we'd all be able to redo high school prom and the Eames Era would provide the music. And instead of getting drunk and shamelessly trying to position ourselves to hook up with the most popular member of the opposite sex at the lake house the next day, we'd all dance and laugh and help the band out with the handclaps. We'd scream along with "Could Be Anything" as balloons came down from a net on the gym ceiling and we search for each other in the helium rain.

The Eames Era is giving us a chance to love music again because it's catchy and passionate. You don't need obtuse literary references or crushing feedback to make an important record; you just need a hook and the sincerity to make it fun. If this EP represents the band as well as I hope, they're ready to be the Andrew W.K. of the pop world and champion all these values I've laid out.

My Eames Era fantasy most likely will never come true, and that's too bad. But if they keep their earnest attitude and come up with enough hooks for a full length, they may play prom yet. And, with enough luck, they may even tour with Black Dice.

*While you read this footnote, 14 hipsters type “Sweaty Envelopes” into allmusic.com’s search engine.
- Tinymixedtapes.com

The Eames Era offers two pleasant surprises right away. First, although three-fifths of the band members are (or were) architecture students, they don't play uptight, inside-joke-intensive math rock. Second, while they're a relatively youthful pop act from the south, all of the band members can play their instruments, and female vocalist Ashlin Phillips knows how to sing properly. Hell, she can belt when she needs to, as she demonstrates in "I Said"; imagine how painful those strident, double-tracked vocals would be with a typical twee-pop chick fluffing her way through them, and you'll want to send Phillips a thank-you note.
The order of the day is cheerful but musically robust material pop, replete with guitars both jangly and fuzzy. There's plenty of variety between tracks: "Could Be Anything"'s layered vocals, hummable melody and handclaps are a polished-enough package to work well on triple-A radio, while "All of Seventeen" will draw indie-rock fans on the strength of Phillips's expressive performance. "You May Not Know My Name"'s flattened-out guitars and summery melody give the tune a retro tinge, and the aforementioned closer "I Said" tops its horn-assisted pop with those wonderful twinned vocals.

The Second EP is a polished, professional record and a sincere pleasure to listen to. Hopefully The Eames Era's members will stick together after the circumstances that brought them together (school?) have come to a close. If they do, Merge Records is bound to come calling.
- Splendid.com

Looking for an EP by a new-ish pop-rock band that'll get you excited and then leave you wanting to here more? How about four songs that are spunky but also filled with real emotion? And great melodies, do you want some of those, too? All this and more is what you'll get from The Second EP by The Eames Era. I sound like a third-rate hypeman I know, but this is the sort of little EP that makes me wish I could hand out free copies on the streetcorner next to the people doling out Bibles. The EP kicks off with the somewhat Rilo Kiley-ish "Could Be Anything"; it's a great lost college rock hit from the 90s if I ever heard one, with choppy guitars and nice harmony vocals, but sounds fresh as anything. "All of Seventeen," "You May Not Know My Name, and "I Said" keep the same feeling going, with lots of energy and lyrics that are funny and sweet. But more than words it's the Eames Era's overall sound that I find irresistible, the way lead singer Ashlin Phillips' voice fits so casually over the guitar-led energy, and their melodies, which are fantastic. They've hooked me with 13 minutes; I look forward to hearing what they do with 40 or so.
- Erasingclouds.com

This four-song EP is the most perfect pop gem [for which] one could ask. This is the kind of release where catchy-as-hell melodies sneak up on you and infiltrate your brain, until you have no choice but to listen to them constantly. There's a modern, yet retro, sound to this band, and this EP is a must-have for anyone looking for a refreshing change of pace from today's musical landscape. - Kitty Magic

This aptly-titled, four-song EP from Baton Rouge-based The Eames Era is a likable combination of jagged, rough-toned dual electric guitars and melodic vocal hooks, all with the adolescent spirit of any good rock ‘n’ roll tossed in for good measure. To be terribly blunt, this is the sort of EP that get bands noticed.

Two of the tracks are immediately recognizable as single material: “Could Be Anything” and the Blondie-like “You May Not Know My Name,” the latter with a blatantly cute vocal melody by singer Ashlin Phillips, who does a good job of taking on extra personality to suit the song. (She adds a wonderfully sarcastic, teenaged “You’re so coooool,” in “All of Seventeen.”) In contrast to her saccharine vocal, bassist Brian Waits awkwardly shouts his backing vocal in the refrain.

The Eames Era seems to be mining the same fertile territory as a growing number of indie bands these days – post-punk, late ‘70s and early ‘80s pop and new wave: Blondie, Television, the Talking Heads, the Cars, etc. Like Television in particular, Ted Joyner’s and Grant Widmer’s guitar parts are energetic and interesting, intertwining, overlapping and crossing paths every now and then, but rarely going the same direction. Combined with Greg Gauthreaux’s drumming, equal parts muscle and precision, the music makes for an interesting background for Phillips.

There is almost an element of kitsch, but it is tough to nail down. The retro vibe about this band isn’t anything like, for example, the overt ‘60s psychedelia of the Apples (in Stereo) or the late-era Byrds in the Beachwood Sparks. It’s more like the Velvet Underground’s influence on Ric Ocasek – a constant undercurrent pulling you in that direction, into that frame of mind.

While The Second EP is a really strong effort, don’t sell the house and start following the Eames Era around the country just yet. Four songs are still just four songs – even when two are really strong and the other two solid. There’s only so much you can do with an EP. Now if the Eames Era would release a full-length, on the other hand…
- 30music.com

As the clever name suggests, "The Second EP" is the Eames Era’s secondrelease. This group of architecture students has pulled together a fine sampling of their energetic nerd rock sound, and put it together on a four-song EP for C Student Records.

The Eames Era is clean, clear, upbeat, rock with bit of pop punk mixed throughout. Since "The Second EP" only has four songs let's just break it down: The album begins with "Could be Anything," a catchy tune that reminds one of a light Weezer tune (something from the green album perhaps). The pretty female vocals are delivered with refreshing sincerity. This is followed by "All of Seventeen" another catchy tune that pulls you in with its sing along refrain. From here on out its all uphill. "You May Not Know My Name" is reminiscent of 1950s top forty rock. There are hints of the Everly Brothers, and the Beatles in this one. The EP ends with its highlight "I Said" a power chord driven pop punk song that could hold its own next to anything by Reliant K.

I always appreciate a good set of pop punk. From what I can tell with just the four songs on this EP, The Eames Era has a lot going for it. I would like to see them hone their skills a bit and take their best shot at an LP. If they give all they got I’m sure it would be great.
- 1340mag.com

With the soaring vocals of Ashlin Phillips out front and twin guitars that alternately chime and grind, Eames Era suggests the eager pop underground of the early '90s, from Velocity Girl through the host of bands dropping 7"s on little labels like Slumberland. Eames offers four songs on its initial recording for the New Orleans-area imprint C Student; in an earlier era, it might've been on vinyl itself. "You May Not Know My Name" is a particular standout with its slyly threaded, engagingly trebly guitar lines and squelchy effect add-ons, "Could be Anything" bounces along effortlessly, and "All of Seventeen" is another song about growing up that ends up working well because of clever lyrics ("We did a lot of drugs/Or so we said....") and the scratchier side of Eames Era's sound. They might want to explore this louder element on future releases — it streaks their cutesy indie tendencies with rakish, garagey silt.
- All Music Guide

Choppy, Strokes-like guitar lines, charming female vocals, flawless harmonies and hand claps a-plenty make this EP irresistible. It’s hard to believe this album is self-produced and released, judging by the slick recording quality. Each of the four songs is perfectly poppy and radio-ready - Punk Planet