A friend once told me that our happiness is always relative, whether we live in a war zone or paradise - our happiness always swings back to the same place. I had just lost my marriage and the band had decided to take a break, all of these things that defined me were now no longer around. It was one of the first times in my life I felt like a stranger just rolling along, but I realised that amongst all of this I was a Pollyanna, someone despite the bad news always looks on the bright side. This was a song I was singing to myself to remember to stay light.”
And the lyrics of new solo single Pollyanna reflect these meditations of Kav Temperly, better known as the front man of Australian rock luminaries. Eskimo Joe.
"No one really knows you when you're out there on your own..."
Searching and yearning are not new to Temperly. Two years ago we had a prelude in Hope Street, and on the solo 21st Century.
Pollyanna delivers a feeling of flying free, suspended without gravity having lost his grounding, yet in floating through the changes there is an underlying richness in declaration and that relative happiness that helps this keep him anchored while he's finding his feet.
Yet somehow this feels the more authentic singer songwriter, allowing himself to be vulnerable, giving us access to his inner core, to his true emotions. It's the first taste of his upcoming solo album.
Pollyanna precedes his highly anticipated debut solo album All Your Devotion, a collection of ruminating, thoughtful, and effecting songs set for release digitally and on vinyl on September 28.
All Your Devotion is a holistic statement of renewal. Produced alongside Pip Norman (Troye Sivan, Jarryd James, Urthboy) and John Castle (Megan Washington, Vance Joy, Bertie Blackman), the album delicately outlines the arc of newfound romance; the rapture, with Pollyanna and Queen Of My Heart, the hesitation, with and Devotion, and the surrender, with High and When You Run. The album explores new musical territory for Kav, as sparse and uncluttered production, reminiscent of pop and folk conventions, takes precendence over rock n roll ways. And we like it
“We spend our lives building barricades to protect us, both physical and emotional. But, as well as protect, these barricades can also isolate and suffocate. All Your Devotion is about tearing those down and starting over, through all the fears and hope…It’s about growing up and moving on. It’s being courageous enough to live and to love again.”
Around the same time as Eskimo Joe prepare to hit the stage for the Under The Southern Stars festival run, Kav is also hitting the road in October and November this year, and we'll get to see him in Sydney, performing tracks from All Your Devotion live in the intimacy of Leadbelly on Friday October 17, so it's going to be a busy few months for the musician.
“It’s just going to be me with an acoustic guitar and kick drum strapped to my back. I want these shows to be raw and real so people feel like they’ve been there right next to me through the writing of this record.”