I think I have suddenly found a new band to get into. I had never heard of Ezra Collective before last night. Catching snippets of them on the Mercury Prize awards though, they sounded a lot like the Cat Empire, probably due to their heavy use of trumpets and jazzy overtones. That sort of pricked my attention, and I decided to do a quick blog entry on the similarity. Before starting to write though, I thought I had better listen to some of their music, and within a few minutes I began to feel myself getting into it. While there are a few similarities with my favourite Australian band, there are of course significant differences too. Similar styles perhaps, but different themes. While Cat Empire are all about throwing beach parties and drinking lots of rum, Ezra Collective seem more urban and all about life in London. I wonder what my friend Charlotte will say about them: it was C who introduced me to The Cat Empire in the first place, so it would be interesting to see whether she likes their new British counterparts.