At first I thought 'oh no, here's another wannabe world music/jazz hybrid' but in reality this is like no other CD released this year. The Cat Empire is special. The musicianship is ridiculously good, the ideas are innovative, and the flow is superb. So, how do I describe The Cat Empire? How's this: Combine Ian Dury, Ricky Martin, Madness and Bob Marley, then add Aussie accents waxing lyrical with creative timing and fantastic rhythm. Latin and jazz rhythms dominate but ska is always ever-present on the brilliant self-titled debut LP from this intelligent Melbourne combo. And the sound? Big Band walls of brass, keyboards, beats and percussion keep the energy sky-high but when trying to find the distinctive defining edge that The Cat Empire have over other big-band combos, you can't go past the percussive, quirky and intimate nature of the vocals. All arrangements seem geared to the fickle 2003 music market with tempo changes and complete genre transitions that always seem coherent and suited to the songs. It's not just the up-tempo brass-powered party flavours that entertain; the low-key laments are my favourite moments; tunes like Lost Song, The Crowd and All That Talking are used strategically to give this album its necessary chilled moments. It doesn't matter if this album fails to please Australia's rock snobs because The Cat Empire is already a sort-after live drawcard overseas after appearances at the Edinburgh Festival and Reading. One listen to The Cat Empire is enough to explain that popularity. This music is beyond genre, attitude or age. Outstanding.

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Tracklisting
1 Manifesto
2 All That Talking
3 How To Explain?
4 Days Like These
5 The Lost Song
6 Beannie
7 Hello
8 One, Four, Five
9 Feline
10 The Rhythm
11 The Wine Song
12 Nothing
13 The Chariot
14 The Crowd

Full listing of THE CAT EMPIRE releases