Shotgun Karaoke is a collection of covers Dempsey recorded after touring with Something for Kate. He put them on Facebook and realised fans loved them.
The EP opens with the Husker Du song ‘Don’t Want To Know If You Are Lonely’. Dempsey’s voice sounds divine and it’s got that lovely husky quality that gives it depth and feeling. Next up is the Wilco cover, ‘Jesus Etc’, introducing some harmonies and banjo, and is the highlight on the EP. It’s a cover that stays true to the original song, with Dempsey showing some real emotion in his voice. Another highlight on the album is the Concrete Blonde cover of ‘Caroline’. There’s different layers to Dempsey’s voice – anger, brooding, softness and yearning and really showcases his beautiful voice.
But songs like ‘Caroline’ sit in contrast to a lot of the other songs that sound empty and devoid of feeling. They would have been incredible in the live setting and being able to see the emotion on Dempsey’s face as he sang the songs. But recorded, they lack emotion and hearing acoustic song after acoustic song feels flat.
This is most evident on songs like the INXS cover of ‘Never Tear Us Apart’. Dempsey seems to have slowed the song down slightly and it just seems to languish in the middle of nowhere. His voice sounds too perfect for the song – it’s missing that tortured, rough quality of Michael Hutchence. Instead, it sounds like Dempsey is just trying to showcase how perfect his voice is.
Dempsey might have been trying to achieve something different with Shotgun Karaoke or he might have just been giving fans what they wanted, but this EP is lacking something. It’s lacking mojo. But Something for Kate fans are pretty diehard and will love this little collection of covers.
6/10
Reviewer: Stephanie McDonald