Eskimo Joe

Fri 5th Jun, 2009 in Features

“Definitely with the band… now that we have babies around and stuff, it’s just a much easier touring situation. You don’t get any bad-ass hangover or – œdrug-overs’ or anything.”

To be fair, Kav Temperley didn’t start this conversation on the topic of narcotics (or lack thereof). Rather, this is the sum of his musings on a new chapter of his new life as frontman for one of Australia’s most beloved rock bands. While Wolfmother blew up and everyone got into Twitter, the three boys from Eskimo Joe went off, got married and had kids. Oh, and recorded a massive album, Inshalla, which even Kav concedes is a radical departure from their last outing.

“I think it definitely sounds a lot more optimistic,” he explains, “but that’s wholly dictated by what was going on in our personal lives.” Laden with upbeat rock anthems such as Sound Of Your Heart and Let Me Down, Inshalla couldn’t be further from the sombre mood established on Black Fingernails, Red Wine, something Temperly is pretty relieved about. “On Black Fingernails we kind of invited that dark side, you know, we wanted to be – œlost in the night’ and all the rest of those clichés. It is kind of fun going down the road, but it’s not the healthiest thing in the world.” Thus with infants in tow and a slightly sunnier disposition, Kav, Stu and Joel have embraced “a less hedonistic lifestyle”, with more focus on crafting music.

That’s not to say there isn’t any trademark Esky angst on this record. On the contrary, Kav maintains, “You can almost hear the progression from the first couple of songs, like [current single] Foreign Land which still has a bit of that feeling left over from the last album, but the last few songs are some of the happiest we’ve ever written.”

The biggest difference, aside from the songwriting mood itself, is in Inshalla’s production. It marks Eskimo Joe’s first shot at making what Kav labels – œa classic album’ by letting someone else take over the reins.
“The way it goes,” he grins, “is that we were such control freaks that we never let anybody near the sound desk until this record.”

This time around, citing changes in the record industry (“You know what, we should get a decent budget because our last album did pretty well”) and the prospect of fulfilling their lifelong dreams led Eskimo Joe to super-producer Gil Norton. “A lot of our favourite records when we were first touring in a band, like Foo Fighter’s Colour And The Shape, were done by Gil Norton,” Kav summarises. “Probably ten years ago if you would have asked us who we wanted to produce our album, he would have been at the top of the list.”

What the one-time Pixies knob-twiddler would bring to the sessions was a new sense of dynamics in the rhythm tracks, previously ignored by a band where every pivotal member played a guitar. “One of the first comments Gil made was, – œIt sounds like a band on cruise control’, as far as the drums went…and it was true. Usually Joel and I [who typically did drum and bass programming] rushed through it and went, – œSweet! That’s over, let’s get onto the fun stuff.’”

Given that Eskimo Joe typically recruited backing drummers from local Perth outfits, the idea that they would pore over these tracks may seem a bit odd. But Kav is convinced. “Those things, subtle as they are, make such a huge difference when you start piling all this shit on top of it.” As such, he reckons time with Norton was well spent, because “you pay super-producers a lot of money, but they’ll teach you things that you’ll take with you for the rest of your musical days.”

Now that Eskimo Joe are more likely to be dealing with nappy changes than heartbreak, the focus of many of the newer songs has shifted considerably. Tracks like Childhood Behaviour offer introspective looks at how to deal with long-term relationships, while elsewhere Kav engages in forms of self-analysis even he admits he didn’t think were possible. “That happens when you’re having a kid. You sit there and say, – œFuck, what do I need to look at in myself?’ Because suddenly you’re bringing another little person into the world.”

Using songwriting as a tool to combat this anxiety is something Temperley is not going to claim exclusive rights to. He reckons “most artists will tell you the same thing.” But in his ineffable manner, he does liken the process to “farting something out”, after which “you walk away feeling like you’ve done a good shit.” Now that’s the kind of honesty we like in a frontman.

Practically, Kav is also scaling new heights on Inshalla by extending his vocal range and hitting notes, especially on the more emotion-laden tracks that he wouldn’t have touched three years ago.

“It’s a pain in the ass, let me tell you!” he chuckles. “It’s definitely a lot more exhausting, everything about the last record was a lot easier, it all sat in a very comfortable baritone range.” Kav’s even had a confidence crisis, where he thought he was becoming “a shittier singer.”

Ultimately, he’s comforted by the fact that he’s still pulling funny faces when he sings, which has to indicate that something is going right. “I always look at myself, especially in film clips because I’m not actually conscious that I do it…but it’s like this pained look.” Given that as a youngster, Temperley regularly regarded pop stars who were – œFeeling The Pain’ as ridiculous, the irony of being “a silly face man” is not lost on him. And now that he’s got a baby to take care of, surely he’ll be able to put those expressions to good use.

Inshalla is out now through Warner Music. Eskimo Joe take on the following venues throughout winter.

Wednesday 29 July – Wollongong University, Wollongong
Thursday 30 July – Hordern Pavilion, Sydney (All ages)
Friday 31 July – Newcastle Panthers, Newcastle
Saturday 1 August – ANU, Canberra
Friday 7 August – The Palace, Melbourne
Thursday 13 August – Thebarton Theatre, Adelaide
Saturday 15 August – Fremantle Arts Centre, Fremantle
Saturday 22 August – Riverstage, Brisbane
Monday 24 August – Moncrief Theatre, Bundaberg (All ages)
Tuesday 25 August – Gladstone PCYC, Gladstone (All ages)
Wednesday 26 August – Pilbeam Theatre, Rockhampton (All ages)
Thursday 27 August – Mackay Entertainment Centre, Mackay (All ages)
Friday 28 August – Brothers Leagues Club, Cairns (15+)
Saturday 29 August – Townsville Entertainment Centre, Townsville (All ages)
Wednesday 2 September – Hobart City Hall, Hobart (Licensed & All ages)
Thursday 3 September – Albert Hall, Launceston (Licensed & All ages)