Album Review: Eskimo Joe – ‘Black Fingernails, Red Wine’

By Jeff Swindoll Sep 25, 2007, 16:56 GMT

Eskimo Joe is an Australian rock band (not to be confused with Eskimo Pie which I could consume some of right now).  They are Kavyen Temperley (vocals), Joel Quartermain (drums), and Stuart MacLeod (guitar). 

The band does well on Australian charts and has won several Australian music awards, but is pretty much unknown in the States.  ‘Black Fingernails, Red Wine’ is their third album and hit number one in Australian (their second ‘A Song is a City’ made it to number two), but it may be the first to try and replicate chart success here in the States.

They also plan a U.S. tour to coincide with the album’s release here.  The band is really very good and I thoroughly enjoyed the album.  I’m not sure what I was expecting, but the band veers toward what I’d call soulful rock – in that they seem to take things a bit slower and are more into singing ballads. 

It’s not what I’d describe as hard rock, but it’s still very compelling and I can see why they’re so hot on the Australian charts since they have a great sound. 

The album comes with a bonus disc of music videos for “Black Fingernails, Red Wine” (4 minutes), “Sarah” (3 minutes), “New York” (3 minutes) and “Breaking Up” (3 minutes).  It’s really a great album and hopefully their Australian success can be replicated in the States.