The Cat Empire

We'll come right out and say it — the funked-up fusion of Melbourne's the Cat Empire should be officially enshrined as the planet's go-to, feel-fantastic party music of choice. Jump straight into the fray here with the backbone-slidin' "Hello" from 2003; the brassy beat-mongering of "Sly," which appears on the FIFA 08 game soundtrack; and the horny, scratched-up, syncopated energy of "The Car Song," which makes you wanna twist 'n' shout, jump 'n' smile from the first note to the last. The Cats savour the Eagles, in Next Steps.

Two Shoes (2005) was recorded at the storied Egrem Studio in Havana, Cuba, and confirmed the Cat Empire's reputation as a style-mashing supergroup equally adept at bangin' out up-tempo party tracks as slowing down the pace for tunes of mellow contemplation — "Miserere" belongs among the latter, and is utterly gorgeous as it builds towards an uplifting sing-along climax. Also captivating is a live, French-language version of the Eagles' "Hotel California," titled "L'Hotel de Californie."

Like the artist formerly known as Prince, the Cat Empire understands the value of an eye-catching logo: for our money, the band's simple cat's eye topped by a crown must go down as one of the smartest brands in pop. That's not to say that the Melbourne fusion-meisters are overly obsessed with the art of shipping units — quite the opposite in fact, as they've built their ideological platform on a rejection of wanton materialism in favour of altruism and the pleasures of a simple life. Starting out in 1999 as a trio (Oliver McGill, Felix Riebl, Ryan Monro), the outfit has expanded in line with its vision of stylistic eclecticism to become the multi-cultural rhythm factory whose best moments can be found among these outstanding Essentials.