The Modern Medieval Explained

The Modern Medieval
Type:studio
Artist:Something for Kate
Cover:Something for Kate - The Modern Medieval.png
Released:20 November 2020
Studio:La Cueva Recording, Byron Bay, Australia
Length:39:26
Label:EMI
Producer:
Prev Title:Leave Your Soul to Science
Prev Year:2012

The Modern Medieval is the seventh studio album by Melbourne band Something for Kate, released on 20 November 2020.

Background and recording

The songwriting process for The Modern Medieval began almost immediately after Dempsey released Strange Loop in 2016 and by the end of 2017, the musical side of things was relatively established. With a sense of where things were going, the trio entered La Cueva Recording with studio co-owner Nick DiDia to formally begin work on the record. Once the recording process had finished, the trio allowed the record to settle before embarking on the mixing process with Howie Beck in Canada.[1]

Paul Dempsey told Rolling Stone "All our other records have been recorded in the same studio, with the same person. You start recording, and immediately as soon as you finish recording, you start mixing, and you keep on going until it's done, and then it's all finished. We decided this time, before we even started, that we wanted to break it up into segments. We wanted to record it one place with one person, and then go home for a month, live with the rough recording, and then go somewhere else and mix it with somewhere else again. So it was three blocks, and it almost gave us three opportunities to imagine what the record could be."[1]

The recording and mixing process was officially wrapped up in November 2019. The album was scheduled for mid-2020, but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[1]

Critical reception

The Modern Medieval received critical acclaim.[2] [3]

Jeff Jenkins from Stack Magazine said "Paul Dempsey knows how to craft a multi-layered masterpiece. His songs are beautifully constructed soundscapes" calling the album "a fine return".[4]

Mary Gleeko from Beat Magazine wrote: "The Modern Medieval is an album of ten polished and slick tracks that dance with spirit and ferocious intensity."[5]

Track listing

  1. "All the Great Minds" – 4:08
  2. "Come Back Before I Come Back to My Senses" – 3:33
  3. "Situation Room" – 4:30
  4. "Inside Job" – 4:04
  5. "Supercomputer" – 4:00
  6. "Waste Our Breath" – 4:01
  7. "Our Extinguished Colleague" – 3:06
  8. "Bluebird" – 3:51
  9. "Last Resort Town" – 2:52
  10. "I Will Defeat You" – 5:21

Notes and References

  1. The Modern Revival of Something for Kate. Rolling Stone. 20 November 2020. 21 November 2020.
  2. Web site: Something For Kate share video for new single "Blue Bird" . Hi Fi Way . 23 March 2021 . 1 April 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210323163852/https://hifiway.live/2021/03/23/something-for-kate-share-video-for-new-single-blue-bird/ . 23 March 2021 . live.
  3. Web site: Interview: Stephanie Ashworth of Something For Kate . Chorus FM . 16 December 2020 . 1 April 2022 . Varvaris, Mary . https://web.archive.org/web/20201216194556/https://chorus.fm/features/interviews/stephanie-ashworth-of-something-for-kate/ . 16 December 2020 . live.
  4. Web site: Something for Kate, The Modern Medieval review . Stack Magazine . 19 November 2020 . 23 November 2020 . Jenkins, Jeff.
  5. Web site: Something For Kate make a spirited return with their first album in eight years, The Modern Medieval . Beat Magazine . 20 November 2020 . 23 November 2020 . Gleeko, Mary.
  6. Web site: ARIA Top 50 Albums Chart. Australian Recording Industry Association. 30 November 2020. 28 November 2020.

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