Listening to After The Sherry Went Round, the debut album from The Eskies, is to flick towards the ‘confidence’ listing in the thesaurus; assured, swaggering and fearless. When Hot Press asks about the lead-up to the release, then, the answer is certainly a little surprising.
“I could barely sleep,” confesses Ian Bermingham, frontman of the hell-raising collective. “I was freaked out. It’s scary to think that people would listen to it, and for them it’s just another album, when for me it’s obviously the most important album ever.”
That the five-piece would be so emotionally invested in the record makes sense, though, when you consider their relentlessly energetic style. “We like to push it,” proffers bassist Steven Kearney. “We don’t want to just scrape by, or limp over the line; we want to excel in everything we do.”
Happily, their first full-length effort has prompted suitably raised eyebrows and doffed hats, storming onto the Irish music scene like a jet-powered gypsy wagon. When you listen closely, there’s flavours of Gogol Bordello or Cockney vaudeville, as well as upbeat melodies which channel The Coral and Mumford & Sons. The truth, though, is that The Eskies don’t really sound like anyone – something that hasn’t gone unnoticed by the group themselves.
“To say we’re not part of a scene would be unfair,” Ian states. “We’ve had cooperation from when we started. But even finding bands to gig with can be a problem. We know bands who’ve landed deadly support slots with bands, or go on tour with bands. Who are we going on tour with? Where do we fit? There’s not a lot of bands around like us.”
It figures, then, that when it comes to inspiration, it’s outside of the realms of music where the band seem to focus.
“You’ll get names like Danny Elfman or Ennio Morricone thrown around far more than bands or artists,” Steven says. “Offering pointers like ‘Think of the big band scene in The Mask.’”
Ian grins: “We’re a sound engineer’s worst nightmare. ‘We want it to sound like a ship, and the ship is in the middle of a lake, and the lake is on fire, and there’s two people dancing...’ They end up shrugging and suggesting a bit more reverb!”
While it doesn’t sound like the easiest way to work, it’s what comes naturally to these guys; they assure us they’re changing for nobody.
“That’s never a temptation,” Ian affirms. “Creatively, the five of us have something great going. We’d never look outside of the band.” Steven continues: “Usually, there’s enough fighting between ourselves; the thought of worrying about other people’s tastes would never cross our minds!”
And it’s unlikely to be long before they’re back in the studio – and at each other’s throats – for a sophomore effort.
“I found myself suffering from a sort of creative block in the run-up to the album’s release,” Ian admits. “All I could think about was this batch of songs, and this body of work. But about two days after the launch at Whelan’s, you’re already thinking of what’s next.”
And to say they’re eager to keep the foot down is an understatement.
“All of us have been in bands before and had a great time, but you can look back and see why it didn’t work. We’ve undoubtedly stumbled into the perfect situation, of being in a band with a bunch of guys that you love. Sometimes, it’s the only thing any of us have any interest in doing.”