One eskimO - Proud Gallery, London - 10/2/09
3/5
By: Tom Hocknell
If iced gems were music they'd probably be One eskimO. It isn't simply the beautifully executed visuals, (imagine a cooler Madagascar crew [Giraffe, Penguin, etc], but the beguiling electronica with acoustic guitars and gentle trumpet, bringing to mind the exactly executed acoustics of Whitest Boy Alive.
Multi-media events seldom live up to how they sound on paper, unless the flyer promotes music and a few lights, but at least One eskimO try harder than most; silhouetted against the bewitching animation from Passion Pictures. Not that any Eskimos would have survived the heat tonight. One only hopes the skimpily dressed girls is compensation enough for the Proud Gallery's electricity bill.
Front man Kristian Leontiou, has had success before, and has a slightly uncomfortable stage presence, that actually becomes him. The other, smartly dressed guys, sitting astride a bass drum and cradling guitars like the Gypsy Kings look trendily at home.
Much of the short set is lush, life-affirming stuff; of the Café Del Mar volume 1 variety, with the soaring romanticism of 'Astronauts', current single 'Kandi' and the uplifting, Guru Josh-touching closer 'Amazing', although it's the darker swelling synths of 'UFO', that spins a hypnotic life of its own. There's an engaging innocence about the songs, and One eskimO drift off too soon, but bands that care about the finer fOnt details, are always going to leave you wanting more.
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