Something For Kate

                                           Echolalia

                                           (Murmur)

                                           A warning to women listening to this album in public: track two, the gorgeously
                                           rich 'Three Dimensions', has the potential to cause orgasms. I first noticed this
                                           watching Paul sing it live, working that tongue over the "la" in
                                           "Echola-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-lia..." It seems so right to me that they used this
                                           enchanting word as the title of the album. Because, only half hyperbolically,
                                           Echolalia is a beautiful as an orgasm.

                                           Listening to it for the first time I wanted to open the balcony window and yell to
                the fools on the street that their lives were meaningless without it, but I couldn't move for the tears. I was floored,
                absolutely. Paul Dempsey, commenting on the song 'Say Something' said "you just wish sometimes that someone
                would come up to you and bring you to your knees with one sentence, just floor you." It must be hard for the man. To
                be able to do to others so easily that which he wishes for himself. Something For Kate's previous albums took their
                time to win me over, whispering to me slowly. Echolalia came up to me and floored me with one sentence; it had me
                in its thrall from the moment I put it on. I was in love. The rest of the world stopped for the duration of play.

                This is a rare achievement. A tribute, perhaps, to the growing power of the band to express themselves, both lyrically
                and musically. It feels trite to say Echolalia is the sound of a band reaching maturity, but I think it's true. Listening to
                their three albums together, you can almost hear the band growing up. Elsewhere For 8 Minutes gave us a group in its
                infancy, full of potential, enthusiasm and energy. Beautiful Sharks took them into adolescence; there was a
                development on that potential, and a stronger questioning, anger and angst. Echolalia sees the band enter adulthood.
                Their growing ease of expression helped along by New Orleans based producer Trina Shoemaker (Throwing Muses,
                Emmylou Harris, Queens of the Stone Age, Sheryl Crow), they have explored new layers of sounds, experimented
                with new instruments, such as a Hammond organ, and found a deeper affinity with their usual instruments. A lavishly
                lush production resulting in a crisp but warm sound gives every instrument room to breathe.

                The opening track, 'Stunt Show', displays this crispness of sound over soft, floating melodies, every guitar strum
                audible, and the whole effect is utterly moving, desperately beautiful and ultimately overwhelming. 'Jerry Stand Up' is
                so exquisite it hurts. A brutally sad study of a life lost in the mechanical corporate identity, it is a gorgeously layered
                track led by a guitar crescendo, and ending with an eye-opening optimism. The first single, 'Monsters' highlights the
                warmness of Stephanie Ashworth's bass while building guitar line upon guitar line into an intricate and cohesive album
                highlight. 'Happy Ending' weaves some intriguing sonar echo-like sounds into the mix. And the closing track, 'White',
                with its sweet guitar line resting on a rising angelic organ note, feels somewhat ecclesiastical; or to keep with the
                opening theme of this review, like that lilting cool down after orgasm. Listen for the little electronic twitches, and the
                vividness of the drums.

                The multimedia component of the disc consists of some mini movies capturing the quiet moments in the studio, sound
                grabs, video postcards from the group in the US and Thailand, a short interview with Trina Shoemaker, and a live
                performance of 'Whatever You Want'. There's also a slide show of still photographs - mostly abstract studies of colour
                or shape, a few travel shots and some studio images - and the clip for 'Monsters'.

                Something For Kate, and Paul Dempsey in particular, has the rare and precious skill of getting right to the heart of
                things that matter. Echolalia is an emotional, indescribably beautiful, delicate and moving album. Without question, it
                is Something For Kate's finest achievement, and easily one of, if not the, the best album releases so far this year.