Stolen Diamonds is the eighth studio album by Melbourne band The Cat Empire. It was produced by Jan Skubiszewski and released on 15 February 2019 through Two Shoes Records. It debuted at Number 4 on the Australian ARIA Albums Chart, making it the band's sixth top 10 debut, following Rising with the Sun (2016). To promote the album, the band released a new single on the first of each month leading up to the release, starting with "Ready Now" on 1 July 2018. Next released was "Stolen Diamonds" in August, followed by "La Sirene" in September, "Kila" in October, "Sola" in November, "Barricades" in December, "Oscar Wilde" in January and "Echoes" in February.
It is the band's last album to feature the full original lineup, with Ryan Monro leaving in 2021 and Harry James Angus, Will Hull-Brown and Jamshid Khadiwhala all departing in 2022.
Reception
Melbourne magazine Beat rated the album 7 out of 10, stating: "The album barely takes a break from its upbeat tempo, and flows seamlessly between funk, reggae, and ska...". They went on to say that the album "...sees The Cat Empire take one step closer towards legend status."
Double J presented Stolen Diamonds as its feature album, and was also very positive in its review, saying: "The worst thing about Stolen Diamonds is that you’re gonna need to clear some space around you if you're planning on listening to it. Because this is very much a record that inspires movement."
While giving the album 3 out of 5 stars, The Sydney Morning Herald gave a more critical review, writing: "...the moves are there, the playing is very fine, but nothing lasts once you've stopped moving."
Track listing
Personnel
The Cat Empire core members
Harry James Angus – vocals, trumpet
Will Hull-Brown – drums, percussion
Jamshid Khadiwhala – turntables, percussion
Ollie McGill – piano, organ, backing vocals
Ryan Monro – bass guitar
Felix Riebl – lead vocals, percussion
The Empire Horns (auxiliary members) Kieran Conrau – trombone, backing vocals Ross Irwin – trumpet, backing vocals Phil Noy – baritone saxophone Additional musicians Eloise Mignon – vocals (track 7) Depedro – vocals (track 13)
Recording details
Produced by – Jan Skubiszewski
Mixing – Jan Skubiszewski
Engineering – Jan Skubiszewski
Mastered by – Adam Ayan
Studio – Red Moon Studios (engineering, mixing); Gateway Mastering (mastering)