Eskimo Joe become more icy

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Eskimo Joe become more icy

July 4th 2006 03:09

It has to be said that Eskimo Joe's latest album, "Black Fingernails, Red Wine" is a rather unexpected evolution of the Fremantle indie pop band. Sure, there are some minute signs as to the path that the band is slowly taking, but the album diverts down a path that I certainly had not expected them to go. Moving on from the decent local successes of their albums, "Girl" and "A Song is a City," Eskimo Joe have chosen a musically darker side for their music as they begin their new offering.

An ambient piano riff, to the constant beat of a minor-key bassline drags listeners into the first track, Comfort You, a majorly instrumental song with the sparse use of one lyrical line, "I will come to comfort you." The track, is an excellent opening track, setting up listeners for the style in which the rest of the album will follow - piano-heavy, darker, and much harsher vocals from lead singer, Kavyen Temperly. This style is instantly seen in the second track, New York, in which Temperly's vocals aren't as distinct as usual, but rather blended in with various vocals to create a choir-esque feel. The track follows in the path of From the Sea, the hit track from their last album, "A Song is a City," and doesn't really break any new ground, apart from the aforementioned use of choir-esque vocals.

Then, however, there is the first single. Black Fingernails, Red Wine, the title track of the album, while having that piano-laden musical style, is quite distinct from the rest of the album, reaching the darkest point both musically and lyrically of the album. Unfortunately, Temperly's attempt to bring this across results in exaggerated vocals that are almost painful to listen to, and even more painful to watch in the film clips (see yesterday's post of the two videos here). While the song has its merits, it departs too much from the bands established sensibility and does not suit their musical abilities at all.

The succeeding track, Breaking Up, almost forgets about that style at all, returning instead to the musical simplicity of previous albums, while Forever Young is a toned down version of the title track. London Bombs is definitely a standout track, a slow piano ballad in which Temperly's voice gains a certain softness to it that is sorely missed throughout the majority of the album. The beauty of the song lies in its musical nakedness - flowing piano with little else from the band, and a soft background strings track to carry the song.

The next track, Sarah - which is the second single from the album - harks back to the early "Girl" days of the band, while This is Pressure once again returns to the relatively new style introduced through Black Fingernails, Red Wine and Forever Young. Musical experimentation is seen once again in Beating Like a Drum with disastrous effects - Temperly attempts Joy Division-esque monotone vocals, saved only by harmonies from Stuart Mcleod, and a nice vocal riff in the song.

Suicide Girl once again shows the softer side of Temperly's songwriting, undeniably related to the ballads of the "Girl" album, namely Liar. The song has a strong beginning, but becomes weak during the chorus with a very generic melody that is immediately forgettable. Nevertheless, the final track on the album, How Does it Feel, sees a middle ground between the new, darker style emerging from the band, and the slow ballads, to create an appropriate ending for the album - one of the choir vocals, the ultimately familiar strings base, and simple lyrical repetition.

To say that "Black Fingernails, Red Wine" does not meet up to the standards of their previous albums isn't wholly true. As a band, they've matured and become much more complex, more willing to venture into new styles and genres. In this album, however, it doesn't always work. While the emphasis on slow ballads is definitely a welcome change from the hard pop-rock riffs of their earlier work, the use of monotonal vocals and in some cases their darker material certainly detracts slightly from the album. The album has its weakpoints, but in general is a good listen.

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Posted By: Jimbo - Category: Artist Review

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Comments

15 Comments. [ Add A Comment ]

Comment by Grant

July 5th 2006 05:03

This ones been doing well on the charts lately- 3 weeks at number 1. Do you know how successful their last album was?

Comment by Jimbo

July 7th 2006 14:44

Sorry for the late response. Their wiki, here, says that the current album is #1 in the charts, while their last album, "A Song is a City," got to #2 in the album charts, with the best rating single from that being their first, From the Sea, which got to The Australian Top 40, though I can't find the exact number. Their first album, Girl, which reached #29 in the Australian album charts, but I can't find anything on how the singles went.

While they've been mildly popular in Australia with the last two albums, it seems that its taken them three albums to get some recognition as a band. The first two albums were definitely popular on mildly indie-focused things like good ol' Rage and Triple J, but now we've seen them finally get a #1 hit. Unfortunately, I think some of their better songs lie in their previous albums.

Comment by Grant

July 7th 2006 23:23

Cheers
As for it taking 3 albums that's seems to be fairly normal unfortunately. Good, new Aussie bands just dont get enough exposure. They are making up for lost time though and good on them

Comment by Anonymous

July 11th 2006 07:54

what the hell is eskimo joe?

Comment by Jimbo

July 11th 2006 08:17

Eskimo Joe are an Australian indie pop band originating in Fremantle, Perth. They have always been of some recognition in the Australian music industry, though nothing of great note, reserved mainly to those aspects of the industry that allow for some sort of indie music - Australian government-run youth music station Triple J and music-video program, Rage, on the public broadcasting television station, ABC. They are a great band overall, check out their music at their myspace.

Comment by nes

July 31st 2006 12:58

]i think eskimo joe are f**kn awsum! and im not just saying that because i think that they r 'cool' or in fashion, but i have followed their music for a long time and feel that they have improved a lot. their musical talents continually surprise me and i think that their newest album Black Fingernails Red Wine simply extends on their musical abilites showing off what they can really do. i love the fact that they have turned darker, it shows their diversity and i think they seem more at home nearly when they sing songs like 'beating like a drum' or 'black fingernails red wine'. overall i think that they are a brilliant australian band and demonstrate what real music is meant to sound like, a bit rough with a few mistakes, but better that than manufactured electronic singers. i like to feel like music still comes from the fingers of artists and not electronics playing with buttons

Comment by Anonymous

August 21st 2006 04:20

black finger red wine im gonna make you all mine a lot of people under ground are gonna get you are gonna go straight round. who o o straight round who o o straight round

eskimo joe SUCK their lyrics dont make sense eg straight round??? what the hell is that supposed to mean

I think there all FUCKS

Comment by Jimbo

August 21st 2006 04:24

They're pop lyrics - they don't have to make sense, just fit into the song and rhyme to some point. Not that I condone it, but you can't say that U2 haven't done the same thing. Pretty much all of their material from the mid 90s onwards is about absolutely nothing. Every now and then they come up with a song that relates to Bono's past and whatnot, but their upbeat songs, like Elevation and Vertigo are about nothing.

Comment by Anonymous

September 17th 2006 06:28

if u actually listen..

the lyrics say
straight down..
so why dont u do a little research

Comment by viktoira

September 24th 2006 08:38

umm this song sounds very satanistic.. wats with the downtown, and underground and all that shit...very weird..

Comment by Anonymous

November 18th 2006 12:51

Noiseworks meets the church .. boring

Comment by eskimo blow

January 5th 2007 12:37

okay back to dodgy song lyrics, how about;
Sarah, won't you tell me your name- i mean duhh!

Comment by JeMu RoX

March 16th 2007 06:41

i luv Eskimo Joe. they r mi fav band. who eva thinkz they suck r wrong. i like their new album. i bought and and cant stop listenin to it. ESKIMO JOE ROX