Everyone's giving this album glowing praise but nobody seems surprised; in fact, A Song Is A City is one of those rare moments when an album's build-up is justified by the finished product. The single, From The Sea, gave a solid indication of quality and also highlighted the amazing voice of Kav Temperley, which rides along on waves of melody; a traditional strong point of Eskimo Joe's sound. While the band are dodging the notion that they're 'maturing', it's obvious, from the opener Come Down, that their bratty pop-punk beginnings are behind them and to fill the resulting void, the band have found a richly textured style that remains pop but introduces a more introspective element, both musically and lyrically. Pianos, strings and an array of cinematic sounds garnish electric guitars, but while songs like I'm So Tired and Carousel suggest the band's evolution, Older Than You and Don't Let It Fly retain the energy so often displayed by the earlier incarnation of Eskimo Joe. Bluebottle Kiss has already shown that an act can escape pop origins to successfully mature with their audience and it seems that Fremantle's finest act is ready to make the same transition. The trio have discovered the key to producing fine songs; a philosophy that the band describe with the motto "it doesn't matter what we want, it's what the song wants"; the reason why A Song Is A City will easily take its place among the finest Australian albums for 2004.

Browse the ENCYCLOPEDIA of Australian Rock & Pop

Tracklisting
1 COME DOWN
2 FROM THE SEA
3 LIFE IS BETTER WITH YOU
4 OLDER THAN YOU
5 A SONG IS A CITY
6 DON'T LET IT FLY
7 IM SO TIRED
8 SEVEN VEILS
9 SMOKE
10 CAROUSEL
11 THIS ROOM
12 CAR CRASH
13 IM SO TIRED - LIVE
14 COME DOWN - LIVE
15 LIFE IS BETTER WITH YOU - LIVE
16 A SONG IS A CITY - LIVE
17 OLDER THAN YOU - LIVE
18 CAR CRASH - LIVE
19 SEVEN VEILS - LIVE
20 FROM THE SEA - LIVE
21 THIS ROOM - LIVE

Full listing of ESKIMO JOE releases