Two Shoes

The Cat Empire

The Cat Empire's Two Shoes -- their second consecutive double platinum LP in their native Australia -- brings Australia's most dynamic musical export to the the US. Live music fans (and anyone at Bonnaroo this year) may already have had the opportunity to catch one of the band's legendary shows -- but until now recorded material was as hard to find as Vegemite. Looking for inspiration beyond the beaches of Melbourne, TCE journeyed to Havana, Cuba to record Two Shoes with producer/engineer Jerry Boys (R.E.M., Rolling Stones) in the studio where the Ry Cooder's Buena Vista Social Club LP was recorded. The result was a record that captures all the energy of a live band at its peak, but also sacrifices nothing in the way of songcraft. Compared to everything from Cake to Madness to Sublime, The Cat Empire's genre-bending is a trademark of the music scene in Melbourne. The band was founded in 1999 by vocalist/percussionist Felix Riebl and bassist Ryan Monro and quickly built up a massive following down under with its incendiary live shows, leading within two years to two double platinum releases on Virgin/EMI. Fueled by the internet word-of-mouth, the band has already sold out venues from Irving Plaza to the Troubadour. The band will headline an 11 date US tour in support of this LP at 500 -1000 cap venues.

Two Shoes Album: