The Cat Empire

playful aussie rockhiphopreggaedirtycubanjazz

Now if you’re from Australia, you’re fully aware of this power squad of rockers. But if you’re not, don’t start thinking The Cat Empire is in the same aussie vein as Silverchair and Savage Garden. No no, TCE packs a hell of a punch – killer guitar riffs coupled with a nasty brass section. All the while, they feel like some neighborhood kids having a hell of a time, but you can’t not love the entirely fun grooves they produce. ‘Sly’ jumps loudly off their newest album, Two Shoes, while ‘Hello’ is one of the killer singles from their earlier eponymous release. Dig the organ and swing interlude where it duels against a mean turntable scratch.
Extraordinarily fun and enjoyable stuff. Perfect for the hot summer.

The Cat Empire – Sly
The Cat Empire – Hello
buy this cd

Posted by Paul Irish on Friday, July 22nd, 2005 under jazz, pop, reggae.

27 Responses to “The Cat Empire”

  1. Anonymous said on July 25th at 10:04 pm :

    Now this sounds strange but did Cat Empire do a cover of “Hotel California” in a different language ? I found this mp3 labeled as “Cat Empire” but the song sure don’t sound like the two tracks posted here. Just curious if someone out there knows what I’m talking about – perhaps the mp3 got mislabeled or something…

  2. Anonymous said on July 25th at 10:08 pm :

    Nevermind, turns out it was them…they decided to do a French reggae version of “Hotel California”…nice :)

  3. Paul Irish said on July 26th at 4:23 am :

    Yeah. That cover is way hot.

  4. Champion said on July 26th at 7:24 pm :

    Hot indeed.

  5. Anonymous said on July 26th at 7:46 pm :

    the first two seconds of Hello, are enough to make me want to cream myself. this groups is hotness in a bag!

    -BigD

  6. sardiax said on July 27th at 4:32 pm :

    Love it :) Big thanks for the recommendation, I’ll definitely be checking them out more.

  7. D'Imit said on August 2nd at 2:13 am :

    Cool site! And well done on the news article!

    Enjoyed the visit here very much.

    Eclectic selection

    You are welcome to pay a visit to my new blog which covers eclectic genres of afro, jazz, latin, house etc.

    http://luxusborg.blogspot.com/

    regards

  8. Anonymous said on August 4th at 9:28 pm :

    Really liked “Hello”. Offbeat and accomplished, and it really swings. Great blog.

  9. Anonymous said on August 5th at 7:02 pm :

    The Cat Empire!!! are PIMPS! they freaking rule!! I found out about them when I was Down Under and I introduced them too all my friends and every single one of them likes them alot!!!

  10. Eon said on August 16th at 11:31 pm :

    These guys are great! Really playful music, just a bunch of Aussie blokes fooling around but you can’t help but get caught up in the groove. Thanks, Aurgasm.

  11. Anonymous said on October 29th at 9:36 pm :

    I’m not sure what this “killer guitar riffs” bit refers to. TCE don’t have a guitar in their lineup, and haven’t used one in any of their live shows that I’ve seen.

  12. Anonymous said on November 11th at 10:58 pm :

    … well, except for the flamenco guitar solo (played by a special guest) in “The Rhythm”; which I didn’t think of when I posted that last comment. But still, I don’t think most people would put flamenco in quite the same category as “killer guitar riffs”, somehow…

  13. Anonymous said on December 23rd at 5:58 pm :

    yep – the Cat Empire have a huge following down here in Australia. They are seriously the BEST band i have ever seen live – the entire crowd is up and pumping, crazily moshing, skanking about! Highly energetic! brilliant! brilliant!

    yep – Hotel California was performed by the band on indie/alternative radio station Triple J earlier this year. You can find it, along with a heap of other awesome tracks on the “Like a Version” CD

    http://shop.abc.net.au/browse/product.asp?productid=363666

  14. Jared said on February 11th at 2:41 am :

    yeah, just got home from their first american show, to start their american tour. Dudes, if this band is coming to your city, you must go. SO much FUN.
    wicked.
    good times.

  15. Bess said on February 12th at 10:08 am :

    aurgasm is a mind reader. This past weekend I was in Boston and during the car rides, I was loving the hot tracks coming out of the local radio stations.

    The cat empire hooked my over critical ear and I was sad to learn that I would be missing their show in beantown that I believe was last night…

    Coming home, I was sure to try to find them on The Hype Machine (hypem.com) and what name comes up but the never fail Aurgasm! Thank you paul, for once again picking another great music gem!

    *Aurgasm is very appropriately named, seeing as how i am not the only one who has to change my clothes after listening to the tracks…

  16. Paul Irish said on February 12th at 10:20 am :

    Bess, it’s great to hear from you! I was actually at last night’s show in Boston. You did indeed miss a killer time, but they’ll be at the Bowery Ballroom on Tuesday in nyc.

    I’m glad to have helped complete that loop for you. Cheers, darling

  17. Anonymous said on February 15th at 2:37 pm :

    By the way, The Cat Empire has no guitar. This is what makes them unique.

  18. Paul Irish said on February 15th at 2:39 pm :

    I have been corrected many a time on this, my apologies. The post will not reflect the fact because I don’t want my subscribers to get this all over again.
    But thank you! :)

  19. Anonymous said on February 19th at 10:30 pm :

    my sister got me to listen to these guys when she heard i was going to aus. i am in love with these guys tho my fav song is “The Car Song”

    wondering if there is going to be a sydney show soon (before june) so i can go watch

    if not, are they coming to canada anytime?

  20. Paul Irish said on February 19th at 10:32 pm :

    Sadly it doesn’t look like you’re in luck here.
    http://www.thecatempire.com/currenttour.asp

  21. Anonymous said on February 19th at 10:40 pm :

    do you know where or who i can e-mail to find out if they will be touring in later of 07?

  22. Paul Irish said on February 19th at 10:41 pm :

    Your best bet is a contact form on their website or sending them on a message on myspace. Good luck!
    I just saw them again two weeks ago and it was exxxcellent.

  23. Anonymous said on March 8th at 6:57 am :

    Yeah, The Cat Empire even play Hotel California [“L’Hotel De Californie” ~ French version sung by Harry] live sometimes. As far as I know, it’s the only cover they do!

  24. Anonymous said on April 16th at 2:57 pm :

    yeah they did it ifor something on triple j called “like a version”

  25. Anonymous said on April 20th at 11:52 am :

    I really feel so sorry for you guys only just finding them in the last couple years!!! We love them back home in Aus and have been sooooo lucky to have been able to listen to them years ago! They are the best band I’ve seen live ever…

    AusBird

  26. Surf em Foco » Blog Archive » O inverno chegando said on May 20th at 2:26 pm :

    […] serious energetic firepower. The ability to seamlessly interweave a number of genres reminds me of The Cat Empire, but while MOVITS! could relax on their catchy beats, they expertly drop variations (i.e. 2:00 in […]

  27. MAЙЯ said on December 26th at 2:18 pm :

    {Читаю {ваш|этот|} блог, и понимаю, что {ничего|нифига} не понимаю. Все так запутано. :)

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