Excuse me if it sounds dismissive in any way, but rather than squeeze The Cat Empire within the fashionably cynical straight-jacket of shamelessly British artists like The Streets, Braintax and that inscrutably naff ska-pop-reggae-grime-anything-that’s-going pop princess, Lily Allen, Cat Empire’s press peeps ought to concentrating on the rich seam of roots based acoustic surf rock being mined from a faultline that includes San Francisco’s Bag Of Toys and Philly’s G. Love and Special Sauce. Yes the truth is really that simple. This is jiggery-pokery music, music sparkling with innovation, feelgood vibes, reeking of smoke, soaked in rum and vodka and crashing around the stage with a joy and spirit usually reserved for street-parties and invite-only riots. It’s there in the wriggly, euphoric horns, the skiffle beats, the washboard percussion, the grossly meandering instrumental passages, the criss-crossing shouty vocal antics, and it’s there in the rasta-rousing, peace-loving, carefree salsa movements of ‘Sol y Sombra’, ‘In My Pocket’, and ‘Saltwater’ also. These boys are keeping it real. Touting a collection of songs audibly pimped and built around thousands of live-shows, The Cat Empire raise the roof with the scratchy, shuffling hip-hop of ‘Party Started’, and the wedgy-giving joyride around Stax and Rhythm and Blues that is ‘The Car Song’. Part Blues Brothers, part Beach Boys, part Fats Domino, part Prince Buster, part Big Band, part Rap.
A six-piece band, based in Melbourne, Australia, Cat Empire has toured extensively throughout Australia, the US and Europe and achieved double platinum status with their previous two-albums. On keyboards and vocals is Ollie McGill, Ryan Monro on bass, Felix Riebl on things that rattle and shake, Harry James Angus on trumpet and vocals, Will Hull-Brown on things that bang and Jamshid “Jumps“ Khadiwhala on decks. That’s in addition to an incredible myriad of guest appearances and mad cameos.
It might tire across the full eleven tracks – but that’s more likely explained by a remarkable lack of energy on our part than the commitment of the band.