That's Entertainment : Gypsy & The Cat
A long, long time ago…back in middle of winter 2010…I heard a song on RAGE that I really took a fancy to. It was Time To Wander by an act called - interestingly enough - Gypsy & The Cat. Now the days of CD singles had ended and I really liked the song, and luckily enough, the full album was $14.99. What the hell, I thought, justifying the expense. At the time I was loading up single songs in to our new Mac i-Tunes, so I uploaded Time To Wander, put the song in to my faves of 2010 list and left it at that, shelving the CD.
Come late summer early '11, I'm listening to a song on the radio and thinking what a wonderful little pop gem. I was keen to track it down and thankfully, at the end of the song, the DJ says it's Gypsy & The Cat with a track called The Piper's Song. LOL! I thought and as soon as I got home, I excitedly ran to the spare room, found the CD and uploaded the whole album this time, which immediately started a brief love affair with the band, while the album quite quickly became one both Lee and I adored.
The debut album Gilgamesh is a wonderfully warm pop album, something brilliant. It's awash with 80's synth sounds, contemporary good time vibes and shiny vocals. In fact, there is not a single duff track on the album and had I bothered to listen to it in full when I first bought it, I would have been wowed then. Oh well, better late than never. And Gilgamesh is an album that has to be listened to in full, running the full range of emotions, commencing with the epic Time To Wander and ending with the stunning The Perfect 2. Considering it is a debut, it's almost like a 'greatest hits'.
In no time at all, I was listening to the album day in day out. As a surprise, Lee bought me tickets to see them play at the Metro for my birthday, although funnily enough on the night, she felt off colour [she was pregnant with Zach at the time]. Gypsy & The Cat were as amazing live as they were recorded, and they seemed fresh, young, excited. Unbeknownst to me, they'd been a bit of a summertime hit with their singles Jona Vark and The Piper's Song, (they blitzed the Triple J Hottest 100 with 3 entries), and the Metro was bursting at the seams with punters singing every word, heaving to the pop-tacular tunes. And not only that - Gypsy & &he Cat ROCK!!! It was a cool little moment seeing a band arriving and as we shuffled out in to the cold night, we wondered how big these guys could become.
Luckily for me, the SMH in conjunction with Apple did some online competition which I entered and won 2 tickets to see them with 98 others at the Bondi Apple Store, playing live and exclusive for our pleasure, and afterwards we got to meet the band. For the second time in as many weeks, Gypsy & The Cat did not fail to deliver, in fact, having the mixed crowd eating from the palm of their hands. Get a pic with the guys after the gig was cool, though considering the room was full of nubile young lasses, I very much doubt they'd even remember the creepy oldie hitting them up for an autograph and a pic…LOL!
Hopes were up, they were winding down and heading back to the studio. To tide us over, a remix album and an exclusive i-Tunes live album were released.
By late 2012, the sophomore LP, The Late Blue arrived. Mixed by Dave Fridman (The Flaming Lips, MGMT) the band changed tack. Gypsy & The Cat reinvigorated their sound, moving away from the '80's trappings and tapping in to a slightly more chilled out, breezy summer time vibe; a bit of an Eagles/Fleetwood Mac taste to it. Bloom was the new single, with a chugging bass, propulsive beat and glorious vocal, it had mega-hit written all over it. I'm not sure why it didn't explode, but it gets played a hell of places when I'm out and about. It really should have been Top 5, but I guess people are happier with their Red Foo. The Late Blue, Broken Kites (a bit Gorllaz for mine) and Sorry (all funk jangle) were high points of the album and it certainly is a grower and a keeper. Released independently, I can only assume not having a record company advertising and touring budget cruelled its chances of connecting with a far broader community in Australia, but it did good business in Europe where they have a tendency to appreciate substance over style.
Recently, FB posts have the band mixing new material and I get excited. Gypsy & The Cat are a dynamic, entertaining band with a real knack for a beat and a hook. Both Gilgamesh and The Late Blue are essential in your collection. Two similar but very different albums, these guys aren't afraid to fuse their influences and create something special. The next time they tour, I'll be there front and centre again. And with summer just around the corner, Gypsy & The Cat are the PERFECT band to have playing while you're barbecuing those sausages, dipping in the paddling pool and mixing cocktails or a tonic for those summertime blues.
So treat yourself - you won't be disappointed!
I-tunes and JB HiFi have both albums - https://www.jbhifi.com.au/Search/results/?keywords=gypsy%20and%20the%20cat
(Aeroplane Tape remix)
