Sometimes, usually when you least expect it, a thing of such rare beauty that it takes your breath away and cradles you in a warmth of belonging and joy happens to land in your lap. Whilst it is maybe a bit far-fetched to think of music doing this in a literal sense I can feel free to use this metaphor as it was through my “lap”top that I first heard Cate Le Bon’s new album ‘Cyrk’.
Hailing from Wales, Cate has steadily been gathering plaudits and acclaim of late and ‘Cyrk’ is the fruit of all the hard work she has put in. Building on her first album and taking influence from Gruff Rhys whom she recorded with, ‘Cyrk’ is an ambitious, revealing and all together wondrous album. What we have here is the future PJ Harvey in the making. She is an artist who is unafraid to stick to her guns and make the sort of music she wants to make which is admirable and utterly enchanting.
So what of the music? Well, first track ‘Falcon Eyed’ sets its stall out with a riff which could have come straight from The Who or The Stones. In a rush to get off it careers down metaphorical rails only taking time to pause for some wonderfully psychedelic synths. Cate’s voice is a mixture of Nico and Tanya Donnelly and sounds self-assured in its delivery. ‘Puts Me To Work’ follows with a lilting melody and another continuation of the 60’s sound and title track ‘Cyrk’ completes a triptych of songs which could possibly be one of the best starts to an album…ever.
It doesn’t stop here though. It is now time for the album to take a much darker tone with ‘Julia’ and the following ‘Greta’ which could have been one of the quieter Velvet Underground songs. It is here that we see the true breadth of Cate Le Bon’s urge to experiment within the confines of her music. Shades of Krautrock and a totally unexpected trumpet solo form what becomes a dark central core to ‘Cyrk’.
The second half of the album starts with a few slower paced songs which highlight Cate’s more folk side and it is here we can concentrate on her lyrics. I try not to talk about this subject in reviews as I feel that they are subjective and mean different things to everyone. Needless to say, you are in the arms of a consummate and quirky singer who is going to take you down paths you haven’t travelled before.
The album finishes with the semi-epic ‘Ploughing Out’. Split into two parts it is over all too quickly and all that is left is to press play once again and listen to what has to be the defining album of early 2012. On this showing Cate Le Bon is going to be a name bandied around for a long time to come.
Released April 30 2012 through Turnstile Music
Posted by Martyn Coppack
