Echolalia

by Charles Spano Never quite as appreciated in the United States as they deserved to be, Australia's Something for Kate create a stirring and emotional post-grunge pinnacle with Echolalia . Sure, some of the songs ("Monsters" for example) veer dangerously close to Goo Goo Dolls sentimentality, but this detailed and moody record is incendiary in its ability to meld melancholy lyrics with sparkling pop. Eddie Vedder is the clearest reference for the vocals on tracks like the rousing "Old Pictures," and the aggressive and propulsive "Say Something" (though this cut conjures Waxwing as well), but the music draws from sources as varied as Australia's famous power popsters You Am I ("Happy Endings") and Pink Floyd (the atmospheric "Manmade Horse"). Echolalia is a varied and powerful record with nary a weak song. It might not be as raucous or rocking as Pearl Jam or Nirvana , but Something for Kate masterfully draw from those bands while adding a pop complexity and grandiosity.