disbanded – founding drummer Paul Sciacca had left ahead of recording sessions. Ashworth on bass guitar, keyboards and backing vocals and Brendan Webb, on lead guitar and vocals, had finished that album with their producer, Greg Wales, also on drums. Dempsey felt that his group were going through a "really turbulent period" and "completely de-constructed everything" to rebuild after Ashworth joined. He continued, "We've just been lucky because we've got this really natural chemistry between the three of us... We've finally got the right combination of people and we're collaborating the way a band should." By the time Ashworth had joined "she and Dempsey had gone from musical acquaintances to becoming a couple." In June 1998 Something for Kate issued another single, "Roll Credit", which included label mates Jebediah's cover of their song, "Clint" and SFK's cover of Jebediah's "Harpoon". Murmur also issued a split double-7" single/EP with the two versions of "Harpoon" on one disc and both versions of "Clint" on the other. During 1998 Dempsey set up a side project, Scared of Horses, to release a solo album An Empty Flight, in November that year. He co-wrote and performed the tracks with a variety of fellow artists on lead vocals including Ashworth, Jamie Hutchings of Bluebottle Kiss, Laura MacFarlane of Ninetynine, Andria Prudente of Arrosa, Glenn Richards of Augie March and Heinz Riegler of Not from There. In late 1998 the band travelled to Toronto to rehearse and record their second album, Beautiful Sharks, again with Paulson as producer. Ashworth and Dempsey co-wrote half of the music for the album. It was released the following June, which reached No. 10 on the ARIA Albums Chart, and was certified gold status by ARIA for shipment of 35,000 copies, in 2001. According to Australian musicologist, Ian McFarlane, "the acclaimed [album] moved beyond the stark instrumentation of the first album into more diverse pastures (for example, the rumbling 'Electricity', the atmospheric 'Beautiful Sharks')". Dino Scatena, an Australian journalist, opined that "a lot of the beauty in [the album] lies in its understated quality ... so subtle, so perfect, any other songwriter would give his little pinky for a moment of such inspiration, such craftsmanship." "Electricity", their next single, appeared ahead of the album in March 1999 and peaked in the ARIA Singles Chart top 40. It was followed by "Hallways" in August, which did not reach the top 50. Beautiful Sharks