[photo: Stuart Blythe]
Youthful naivety can produce flashes of rock & roll excitement, but genuine experience and the passage of time can turn a good band into a truly great one. Now, more than a decade on from when the young Fremantle trio leapt onto the national stage, Eskimo Joe are taking a big, bold step towards music greatness.
On the eve of releasing their fourth album, the horizon has broadened. Band members Kav Temperley, Stu MacLeod and Joel Quartermain, have never been ones who ascribe to the status quo and consequently have proven there’s a whole world of possibilities to explore – if you simply follow your heart, listen to your muse and make the most of your talent.
Their third album, Black Fingernails, Red Wine, was a brazen step forward for a band borne of a scene that doesn’t always encourage grand statements. This dark edgy collection of songs was a monumental leap forward and landed the band not only quadruple platinum sales, but a number #1 charting album along with industry accolades with four
ARIA Awards’>
ARIA Awards in Australia. Consequently their world expanded.
Eskimo Joe landed a US Record deal with the respected Rykodisc, and proceeded to explore new territory. Humility coupled with a huge dynamic on-stage performance, elevated the band in the minds and hearts of locals. Their sheer perseverance from starting at the beginning again in a notoriously tough market, generated a solid base of fans.
The culmination of this international touring experience has creatively given way to new material for album number four. Looking to further shake-up their methodology, Eskimo Joe have now enlisted the assistance of world renowned English Producer, Gil Norton (Foo Fighters, Pixies, Echo and the Bunnymen). While Black Fingernails, Red Wine was an award winning first attempt at self-production, this time, the trio have openly embraced the challenge of outside perspectives.
A background of bold production brushstrokes cleverly reflecting material that has, thematically, just as much personality on display, Eskimo Joe aim to further showcase developments in their songwriting on the forthcoming album. Through previous award-winning albums, A Song Is A City and Black Fingernails, Red Wine, this consistent aspiration is vividly evident.
| Now more than ever at home in their own skin, the trio raise the bar set by past albums with the forthcoming album number four. The songs move to a brighter, dynamic mood reflecting both recent events in both their personal lives and on a universal front without abandoning the everlasting desire of forward movement. Unashamed emotion and unguarded personality envelope every track.
So, after ten years together, lesser bands may ponder what roads are left to travel… Eskimo Joe actively embrace the wide-open road before them earnestly and proudly, while being not afraid to try some roads less traveled along the way. |
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