I last spoke with Something For Kate at the release of their debut album Elsewhere For Eight Minutes, which still remains close to my stereo for those moments when I'm not listening to new music from other bands. Now, with the release of the band's latest album Beautiful Sharks, I have another SFK release to sit near the stereo & indeed the computer as well.

I caught up with the band's frontman Paul Dempsey again by phone during a promotional visit to Sydney in preparation for the band's Live At The Wireless session & the launch of their new album. A noticeable change in Paul's level of confidence when talking to the media was obvious since my last chat with him, this time around, very talkative & apparently excited about getting set for the new album.

It was very surprising to hear the amount of time which had passed since that debut album was released.

"Yes, it's incredible, over 2 years now. That album went very well for us & I think it really surprised all of us as well. Probably the biggest thing off that album would have had to have been the Captain single but I think once people got past that song they liked the rest of the album as well. At least I hope they did enough to listen to Beautiful Sharks."

The subject of the band's new album coming up gave me a good opportunity to delve into the various aspects of the new songs, in particular the noticeable 'quietening down' of a lot of the songs.

"I think like all bands we just have to move on. Elsewhere For Eight Minutes was musically where we were then, but if you're a heavier sounding band like we were at that time, I think you have to move on. We really want to explore where our music is going to go & I think that this album has a lot more elements than you might have found on Elsewhere."

On the band's first single from this album, Electricity, there was a re-recording of what I consider to be the band's best song alongside Captain, Sleep (Is Worth The Wait). The band had performed this on their last Live At The Wireless performance for Triple J. I asked Paul about the performance of that version.

"Gee, that's a big call, saying Sleep's one of the best songs around. What you heard was actually the first time we had ever played that song as a band. I remembered what words I could & it just came together, pretty well by the sound of it from you. I think I even remember announcing that that was the first time we had ever playing it, though we have played it at gigs since."

Live performance is one of the things the band have become renowned for & Paul spoke about the difference between performing at large festivals like Big Day Out or Livid & smaller gigs at pubs or halls.

"It's an interesting thing to look at the difference between those 2 different types of gigs. I think I personally prefer playing at the smaller gigs. It's probably a psychological thing because I think that if people come along to see you at a pub gig, they've actually paid to see you. At the festivals, the people in the crowd may be there to see you or in the case of the Big Day Out, they might be there filling in time until one of the other 30 or so bands comes along. Although sometimes the bar becomes a bit of a distraction playing in pubs I think, because some of the audience might be going off to buy a drink in the middle of a song - that can be a bit unsettling."

Getting onto another aspect of the band's music this time & the fabulous video clip which accompanied the Electricity single. Paul was very excited about it & spoke at some length.

"We were very happy with the way that clip ended up. It was mostly the band's own ideas for the clip but it turned out beautifully on the screen & we have been fortunate enough to get some video play for it too."

Back on the subject of the album though & I asked Paul about the limited edition CD -ROM disc that is included with the album.

"Again, it was our own ideas on the CD ROM. What you'll see when you get a chance to look at it is footage of us actually making the album, recording, interviews & a lot of other things we thought people might be interested in. There's also an acoustic version of Captain, which a lot of people haven't heard before, so it'll be good for them to have this version."

While on the mutltimedia aspect of the band, the new Something For Kate website has been up & running for a little while, replacing the older version. Since I last spoke with him, Paul has become somewhat more impressed with the use of the Internet.

"We actually put some money down to get our own band name for the website. The old address was a little bit difficult for people to find or remember, so we thought it was a good idea. The old version of the site was also starting to get a bit messy too, so everything's been tidied up & we like it now. I can see why people get so immersed in the Internet now. For us, or I suppose for any band, it's a great way of communicating with the fans on more of a personal level. I was amazed how many people log into the chat times too. there's so much you can do that you can't away from the computer in that regard."

With time running out, I had to find out about that intriguing title of the album & what it actually means.

"Well, it's going to mean different things to different people. I can't really explain it for everyone, but for me on a personal level, the name says it all. Beautiful Sharks for me is about the beauty of the shark. They can be really beautiful but at the same time, they can be absolutely terrifying. I think the album is a little like that. Songs like Photograph or Beautiful Sharks itself can be soothing, but at the same time, there are other songs there that can bite, like Hallways or Electricity. Then again, it might mean something totally different to some people."

Check out the band's new album Beautiful Sharks or see the band live near you soon.