Something for Kate
ECHOLALIA (Murmur/Sony)
For years melbourne trio Something For Kate have kept pretty quiet. One of this country's most respected bands has a huge, almost underground following - diehard listeners who collect the group's vinyl and attend every one of their shows in their town. until now, SFK haven't had an album that has managed to cross over to mainstream radio in the way, ay, Powderfinger have. That's about to change.
Echolalia (apparently the involuntary repetition of various words and phrases, common in dance music producers) is not only a record that will take old fans the extra step they have always wanted to go, but also an album that should - at last - see SFK gain the wider acceptance they have always deserved.
The most obvious feature of this third SFK album is that it's a collection of songs with a production value that actually does them justice. Daniel Lanois protege Trina Shoemaker has done an amazing job with the record, allowing all the subtlety of Paul Dempsey's songwriting to shine. And subtle it is.
The first single from Echolalia, "Monsters" is a great indication of the depth of SFK's tunes - a depth which, in the past, has been muddy and murky at times. Here it comes forth with stunning clarity.
With an imaginatively understated keyboard line struggling almost unnoticed against the patented angular guitar, "Monsters" moves from simple rock to complex creation without coming within a cooee of poor taste or overacting.
"Something in Return" shows perfectly how to use internal contradiction to take a song to the next level, with Clint Hyndman's relentless drum pattern laid behind slow verses in a classy juxtaposition.
The chaotically arpeggiated guitar verse of "Seasick" gives way to a soaring chorus, replendent in shining harmoney and anthemic atmosphere, and setting the listener iup for the delicate sloser "White", with its difficult plea, "I hope that you're not hoping for me."
A complete package, this record moves on from Beautiful Sharks, taking the step to glorious hi-fi with integrity intact. Echolalia is a little softer and clearer than its predecessors, too - a fact non-fans will employ for the, "oh, they're so boring" argument - but that softness is a close to the old cliche as any band could hope to come: a velvet glove on an iron fist.
DAN LANDER
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