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Stolen Diamonds

Stolen Diamonds
Studio album by
the Cat Empire
Released15 February 2019 (2019-02-15)
StudioRed Moon Studios
Length53:53
LabelTwo Shoes
ProducerJan Skubiszewski
The Cat Empire chronology
Rising with the Sun
(2016) 		Stolen Diamonds
(2019) 		Where the Angels Fall
(2023)
Singles from Stolen Diamonds
  1. "Ready Now"
    Released: 1 July 2018
  2. "Stolen Diamonds"
    Released: 1 August 2018
  3. "La Sirène"
    Released: 1 September 2018
  4. "Kila"
    Released: 1 October 2018
  5. "Sola"
    Released: 1 November 2018
  6. "Barricades"
    Released: 1 December 2018
  7. "Oscar Wilde"
    Released: 31 December 2018
  8. "Echoes"
    Released: 8 February 2019

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.[1] The album was released almost three years after their previous album, Rising with the Sun (2016) - the band's longest gap between albums at that time. 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. 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.[2] Next released was "Stolen Diamonds" in August, followed by "La Sirène" 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.

Artwork

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The artwork for Stolen Diamonds is a photo taken by Jason Futrill (also known as Tassiegrammer), taken at the Bay of Fires in Tasmania. The photo is entitled Floating Girl, and the subject of the picture is Futrill's then-partner Susan Matthew. On the day of the shoot, the temperature was below 12 °C (53.6 °F). Futrill stated that "at the time of capturing this image, drones had not yet become mainstream, and the unique perspective of the aerial image, combined with the colours and focal point of Susan in a bikini, helped create an image that has people dreaming that they were there."[3]

Reception

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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."[4]

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."[5]

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."[6]

Track listing

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No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Kila"Felix Riebl3:48
2."Stolen Diamonds"Harry Angus4:23
3."Oscar Wilde"
  • Riebl
  • Angus
3:46
4."Ready Now"Riebl3:15
5."Barricades"
  • Angus
  • Jan Skubiszewski
  • Oliver McGill
5:18
6."Anybody"
  • Riebl
  • Angus
4:31
7."La Sirène" (featuring Eloise Mignon)
  • Riebl
  • Eloise Mignon
  • McGill
3:18
8."Echoes"Angus4:33
9."Who's That"Riebl3:18
10."Adelphia"Angus5:49
11."Saturday Night"
  • Riebl
  • McGill
  • Ross Irwin
4:41
12."Bow Down to Love"Angus3:50
13."Sola" (featuring Depredo)
  • Riebl
  • Jairo Zavala
3:23
Total length:53:53

Personnel

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Charts

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Weekly charts

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Chart (2019) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[7] 4

Year-end charts

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Chart (2019) Position
Australian Jazz and Blues Albums (ARIA)[8] 1
Chart (2020) Position
Australian Jazz and Blues Albums (ARIA)[9] 30
Chart (2021) Position
Australian Jazz and Blues Albums (ARIA)[10] 30

References

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  1. ^ "Stolen Diamonds – Out Now". The Cat Empire. 14 February 2019. Retrieved 25 February 2019.
  2. ^ Streader, Kate (9 July 2018). "The Cat Empire reveal new single, 'Ready Now'". Beat Magazine. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
  3. ^ "The Stolen Diamonds album cover, shot by Australian Photographer Jason Futrill, also known as Tassiegrammer, is entitled "Floating Girl" and was captured at the Bay of Fires in Tasmania". facebook.com. 26 February 2019. Archived from the original on 23 November 2023. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
  4. ^ "'Stolen Diamonds' sees The Cat Empire take one step closer towards legend status". Beat Magazine. Retrieved 25 February 2019.
  5. ^ Condon, Dan (7 February 2019). "Feature Album: The Cat Empire – Stolen Diamonds". Double J. Retrieved 25 February 2019.
  6. ^ Zwartz, Barry Divola, Kish Lal, Annabel Ross, John Shand, Bernard Zuel and Barney (11 February 2019). "Music reviews: Ariana Grande, the Cat Empire, Woman's Hour and more". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 25 February 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ "ARIA Australian Top 50 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 26 February 2019.
  8. ^ "ARIA Charts – End Of Year Charts – Jazz and Blues Albums 2019". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  9. ^ "ARIA Charts – End Of Year Charts – Jazz and Blues Albums 2020". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  10. ^ "ARIA Charts – End Of Year Charts – Jazz and Blues Albums 2021". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
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