In mid-2012 Something for Kate resumed their recording career, six years after their previous studio effort. They worked on "Leave Your Soul to Science" (September 2012) in Dallas with John Congleton (Okkervil River, Shearwater, the New Pornographers) co-producing. Dempsey said they looked for someone to contain them during the recording process: "We recognised an inclination or proclivity among ourselves to procrastinate and keep layering stuff up. We knew that we needed to fight that instinct and he was very much the guy to help us."