As they take to the stage the band One Eskimo reveal themselves to have just a catchy title. For they're are four of them with seemingly no connection to any Innuit tribes. But the balmy crowd are willing some arctic beats from the stage. Lead man Kristian Leontiou swaggers on and assumes the emotive heart of the band. Cradling the mic stand he breathes the opening lyrics to the infectious new single 'Hometime' and a welcoming coolness drifts through the venue.

One Eskimo's sound sits a door down from mainstream pop and a few doors up from warped ambience. Leonitou's voice certainly has the soft emotion that would sit happily on any polished pop record. But Leonitou shunned this career avenue in 2004, opting to seek out a more original sound to capture 'how mind-blowing our very existence is.'

Pretty creditably, One Eskimo do conjure up a sound that is quite unique but also highly accessible. Trumpets and brushed cymbals give jazzy textures to such tracks as 'Astronaut'. While 'Hurricanes' pepper the chilled air with its arid apache beats. All the while never straying from its radio friendly confines.

Seated and hidden in the shadows, the other three members let Leonitou become the sole visual focus for the band. His sincere posturing and closed eyed crooning is hypnotic under the low lights. But the saccharine lyrics do add a little too much sweetness to proceedings. One Eskimo veer dangerously towards the cute and fluffy nature that their eskimo band graphics imply. But there is plenty of grown up soul massaging rooted in their sound to rescue them from cartoon cliches.

Humble 'thank you's’ from Leonitou end the night and the change in temperature is noticeable. A few degress rise on the warm June night as the speakers silence and I leave more at ease with the Eskimo association.

To find out more about One Eskimo go to www.oneeskimo.co.uk

Review by

Pearse O’Halloran