Review Summary: The beginning of a legacy.
In 1994 at a local Melbourne pub, 3 friends in Paul Dempsey, Clint Hyndman and Julian Carroll (Julian left the band after the release of
Elsewhere For 8 Minutes and was replaced by Stephanie Anworth), took the dip of putting their funds together and recording an album. What resulted was
Elsewhere For 8 Minutes, a fantastic debut album by a band that was soon to become one of the biggest names in Australian music, Something For Kate had made their initial yet, lasting impression on anybody that took notice.
Elsewhere For 8 Minutes is really a stand-alone record in the SFK discography, as it is the one album that is very grunge rock focussed, leaving out any of the alternative and tender pop hooks that are found in albums like,
The Official Fiction and
Desert Lights. The sound of the band was very gruff, which suited the unique stylising of Dempsey’s vocals. No better example of this is one of the most celebrated Something For Kate tunes, “Captain (A Million Miles an Hour)” which is a very bass and drum heavy song. The beat is syncopated, and the guitar locks right into this, while Dempsey’s vocals are really a highlight as the flourish all over this grungy tune with bravo, as “Captain” shows off Dempsey’s vocal range quite subtly. Another example of this grunge rock styling is fan favourite “Pinstripe”, a simple song, that features some fantastic guitar and bass duelling from Dempsey and Carroll during the verses, while the bridge has an almost
Kidcrash sound about things. Lyrically the song is the usual Dempsey standard – impeccable, as the discussion of how things that are lost can never be gotten back are sung in glorious metaphors.
"You're the last day of April every year
You're grey, feeling for something, anything, you can't have
Oversize, owning the road
Pulled by a current, tossed over in the wind
You focus your sights and try
Try to stare up at the sky
Does it hurt your eyes?
Maybe you'll go blind
Or maybe all you'll see is, all you'll see is sunshine
Sunshine"
Yes,
Elsewhere For 8 Minutes does not have the most fantastic production as the vocals are sometimes overpowering, the cymbals cut through like a church bell, the guitar tone is slightly askew and the bass is almost – gasp – the loudest instrument heard, yet this really shouldn’t deter the listening experience, as you begin to hear the wonderful sounds and be empowered by the lyrics that is Something For Kate, a band that after
Elsewhere For 8 Minutes were to become one of Australia’s most favourite and loved bands. This is why we should all be thankful, that at that pub in 1994, Something For Kate had decided to record.
