A BAND OF MANY PIECES

Having gained something of a huge reputation with their growing collection of recorded work & an even bigger reputation as a live act, Australian band Something For Kate are certainly a band who seem to know know boundaries. Ever increasing circles of wonder surround their new material & their brand new album Echolalia, just released as I write this is no exception.

I caught up with Something For Kate's frontman Paul Dempsey only a week or so ago, having spoken to Clint Hyndman from the band a few weeks earlier, at the release of the first single from the album. Having spoken to Paul on a number of occasions, it was easy to move into conversation on a variety of subjects as he's such a nice guy, as are the rest of the band.

First up, I congratulated Paul on the end result of the album & asked about the artwork.

"We do all our own artwork, but the idea actually came from my niece. She was given a project at school, to complete a jigsaw puzzle & she actually managed to do something completely unexpected with it, you know, something there's only supposed to be one way of doing & she managed to do it another way. When I saw it, I knew we really had something there which conveyed what we're trying to say with Echolalia, there's more than the conventional way of doings things, sort of 'thinking outside the square' so to speak."

I'd spoken with Clint Hyndman only a few weeks before regarding the recording of the album (recorded at Mangrove Mountain on the New South Wales Central Coast)& asked about Paul's experience.

"Look, in a few words, we had a ball. It was such a different experience than any other studio we've ever been in.I mean, it actually had windows where you could see outside & it's such a beautiful place. Really, it was a unique place to work, where we could see outside, make as much noise as we wanted, without disturbing anyone else. We were close enough to go into the nearest town, but yet so far away from anyone that we just got no interruptions."

Onto the album itself & I asked Paul about the band's impact on radio & whether commercial radio has 'gotten' the band.

"Well, I have to say that at least one of the commercial stations is actually playing Monsters off the album. I live next to a tram line & I just can't pick up the radio, but I'm told that they have actually been playing it a bit. I have to say that I've never written a song with a 'hit' in mind & I wouldn't do it & I guess I don't care about whether our music gets played on the radio or not. I'm writing music for people who want to listen. We've had tremendous support from Triple J & community radio around the country, but I guess I'm glad that commercial radio is getting our music out to more people."

While the band have already had success with their previous material, I wondered how this had affected the band's intentions on the new album.

"All of the songs we do I think have to have... a substance I guess is the best way to describe it, but to me, a song has to do something more than just entertain people, it's got to be something honest, about yourself or something you're into. I always hope people can find something like that in our music."

Lastly, in talking about favourite songs from Echolalia, I spoke about my favourite tracks White & Say Something, which Paul found rather intriguing.

"It's interesting that you like White. I suppose there's a sort of dreamy feeling in that song that's a little like Beautiful Sharks & I guess runs back to that album. You asked me about Say Something as a single & while I can't rule it out, it's not one that we thought of. I'm glad you like this album though, because that's what we try for."

Check out Something For Kate's new album Echolalia out now through Sony or see the band when they tour near you.