Eisley

Hanson suffered an unfortunate fate when its Partridge Family-style bubblegum pop skyrocketed up the charts and into the hearts of prepubescent kiddies everywhere: People neglected to acknowledge that the squeaky-clean trio possessed the chops to move beyond Romper Room-level emoting. Thankfully, so far the siblings in Eisley aren't suffering the same ignominy.

In 1997, sisters Chauntelle and Sherri DuPree -- who were ages 15 and 13, respectively -- recruited their 8-year-old sister Stacy, 10-year-old brother Weston, and close pal Joe Wilson and started playing gigs at church basements and all-ages clubs. The Texas quintet's whimsical indie rock eventually caught the attention of Coldplay, which asked Eisley to be the opening act on its 2003 U.S. tour. But even more fortuitously, Reprise Records came calling.

Room Noises, Eisley's subsequent major-label full-length debut, comes across as Rilo Kiley's tagalong little sister, all spun-sugar twang sprinkled with quirky, melodic pixie dust. Sherri and Stacy are eerily precocious vocalists, twisting their voices together to resemble the siren call of mythological mermaids. But Eisley's wholesome, Leave It to Beaver shtick -- e.g. , Noises contains a song titled "Golly, Sandra" -- never sounds pious or preachy, just the stuff little girls can idolize but never outgrow.