The Cat Empire- Two Shoes

This is The Cat Empire's second album. It was released in 2005, two years after their highly successful self-titled album.

There are two aspects to this album- the chinscratching experience of listening to the CD in an armchair, and bouncing around like a possessed loon when the songs are played live. Sly, Lullabye and The Car Song somehow don't really work for me in the former setting. But at a live gig, it's a completely different story and the songs work a treat.

Recording quality is satisfactory... once you give the "treble" dial a big twist clockwise. Prior to this, it's an inexplicably muffled sound.

Settling into a gentle groove, In My Pocket has a wonderfully peaceful and uplifting vibe. Also, the chorus lyrics are perfect... ok, maybe just for semi-drunken chorus singalongs! Finally, The Cat Empire's pre-chorus reggae breakdowns are always a highlight for me.

Two Shoes takes a similar approach and again it works very well. It feels like during each verse, the crowd quietens to hear the wise poet's heartfelt and truism filled lyrics. Then each chorus comes along to re-inject some energy with an upbeat crowd singalong. Brilliant.

Miserere should be more of the same, but it doesn't work for me. Somehow, neither the lyrics nor the music have any hook for me. Although, a trivial detail has great appeal for me- I really like the gentle heartbeat-esque thud of the kick-drum. Yes, quite a strange element to find enjoyment in! More meaningfully, the ending is wonderfully uplifting ending, in a similar way to the final scene of Neon Genesis Evangelion Episode 26.

Sol y Sombra has very immature appeal for me- my nickname for the song is "Soggy Salada"! More seriously, I dig each of the varied sections, but as a song they don't gel that well together. 1001 takes a similar concept and makes it work brilliantly.

Speaking of irreverence, Protons Neutrons Electrons is brilliantly whimsical, with the tale being perfectly complemented by the tongue-in-cheek music. Great, silly fun.

One would expect that Saltwater, a ska song, would be right up my alley. Yet somehow it just feels to me like every ska cliche haphazardly thrown together into a song.

That leaves The Night That Never End. A beautiful lullabye. And then, slowly, through the song it builds up... like The Wine Song ... into a crazy party of gypsies on speed. Flailing around in careless ecstacy. This song covers the full spectrum of energy levels and is brilliant everywhere in between.

Favourite songs

In My Pocket, Two Shoes, Protons Neutrons Electrons, The Night That Never End, 1001 

Worthwhile?

For many years, I considered this to be a boringly conventional follow-up to their debut album. But rediscovering it has made me realise that it would have just looked silly if they'd released another album of eclectic songs which wildly jump all over the place. The emotions on this album are just as intense and varied, merely more measured in their execution. So, I think I actually prefer this album in many ways.