Album Review: Something For Kate - 20th Anniversary Reissues

Something For Kate

Twenty years, huh? Not a bad innings for any band. Something For Kate, purveyors of thoughtful, lyrically-rich songs are celebrating their anniversary with re-issues of their entire back catalogue, as well as an extra six discs’ worth of B-sides, live tracks and cover versions. It’s a vast collection and one that – for fans with a little extra pocket money lying about – will look impressive on the shelf.

The six individual albums in this collection – from 1997’s Elsewhere For 8 Minutes right the way to 2012’s Leave Your Soul To Science – are all undoubtedly strong, Paul Dempsey’s lyrics and vocals painting aural pictures as deep as any of his contemporaries. Every SFK fan will have their favourite, but a special reissue like this is a perfect chance to fill any gaps in the collection.

Despite the quality of the originals, these re-issues – like all others before them (see You Am I’s ripper efforts of last year) – will be judged on the packaging, B-sides and rarities that inhabit the second discs. The packaging is underwhelming, and while there are 80-odd additional tracks here, one of the pitfalls of having such a talented songwriter as Dempsey fronting the band is that SFK have taken every opportunity to release these songs already.

Now, there’s nothing in the previous sentence that can detract from the brilliance of the many tracks that didn’t quite make the cut of SFK’s albums. Songs like Hawaiian Robots, Faster, Telescope and especially Losing My Mind would make any red-blooded songwriter weep tears of envy, but the problem is that not only have these tracks already appeared on the band’s single releases over the years, but they’re also presented front-and-centre on Phantom Limbs, SFK’s 2004 collection of B-sides. So chances are that if you’re a devoted fan, you’ll own the songs already.

Likewise, live versions of tracks like Pinstripe, The Astronaut and the jaw-dropping You Only Hide are moments that, for anyone who has seen SFK play any of these songs live, will stand suspended in time forever. Seriously, the live acoustic version of You Only Hide on Disc 2 of The Official Fiction is achingly beautiful. But again, anyone with Phantom Limbs or the Déjà Vu single will already own this track, thus lessening the impact of these re-issues.

Over the past 20 years there would be countless SFK fans who feel they own part of the band, whether they bought Q&A With Dean Martin, saw them play in a dingy pub, can recite a full album’s worth of lyrics, or keep a faded poster of the band on their bedroom wall, but a collection of releases like this will hopefully provide a moment to take stock of the value Something For Kate have given to our lives.

If you’re yet to fully discover the band, then get stuck into these reissues. If not, then you’d be wiser spending the dollars on tickets for you and an old mate to see them on tour.