Any musician whose success has been aided by their association with a better-known singer will always struggle to step out of their famous friend’s shadow. That’s why you’ll rarely read an article about Cate le Bon (and clearly this one is no exception) that doesn’t mention the fact that she’s toured and collaborated with psychedelic indie wizard Gruff Rhys. On this album, le Bon’s second, the links between the two Welsh songwriters are as close as ever – CYRK is being released on Gruff Rhys’ label Onvi and during its recording le Bon was able to take advantage of Super Furry Animals’ compendium of synthesisers, effects pedals and guitars – but that doesn’t stop le Bon from making a record that’s unmistakably her own.

It’s the little touches that litter CYRK which make it distinctive from the work of any other singer-songwriter, colouring the record with splashes of ingenious eccentricity which were largely absent from le Bon’s 2010 debut, Me Oh My. For one thing, the title of the album – the Polish word for ‘circus’, inexplicably capitalised – is puzzling, and the music itself raises even more questions. Why do the cooing vocals in the title track’s middle eight, for example, sound like they’re being sung by a choir of doves? Why is there a weird trumpet solo and a military snare rattling at the end of ‘Greta’? Why does whoever’s playing piano on ‘Through The Mill’ sound as though they’re falling over sideways as they do it? It’s hard to know the answers, and harder still to imagine how someone could come up with such strange ways of embellishing their straightforward pop songs, but one thing’s for sure – these songs are all the better for it.

There’s even something odd about the way le Bon sings, at times sounding like she’s attempting a cariacatured approximation of a Welsh accent – unusual indeed for someone born in Carmarthenshire. It’s the way she enunciates her way through ‘Greta’, not just twisting, but contorting her tongue around each and every exaggerated syllable. All the while, creaking, claustrophobic hums of synthesiser weave in and out of each other in a Broadcast-like fashion, marking a clear departure from the pretty-but-plain folk ballads of le Bon’s last album. You might even think that ‘Julia’ has been penned in tribute to Julia Holter, the way its synthesiser slowly shimmers.

It’s surprising that these songs should work so well on an album that opens with the rattling rock ‘n’ roll of ‘Falcon Eyed’ (easily CYRK’s catchiest song) but Cate le Bon seems to celebrate contrast – a point proven by CYRK’s final two tracks. ‘Ploughing Out Part 1’ has a beautifully inflected country guitar and the gentlest of choruses, and its simplicity is entirely at odds with ‘Ploughing Out Part 2’, where you’ll find an eclectic array of instruments caught up in a semi-motorik psychedelic wig-out. These two halves of the same song set these two sides of le Bon’s sound in stark contrast to one other, at the end of an album that’s done well to combine them.

Admittedly, the shabby production on CYRK means its colourful psychedelic streak isn’t as vivid as it is on, say, Gruff Rhys’ Hotel Shampoo, but that’s perhaps an unfair comparison. What this album makes perfectly clear is that Cate le Bon isn’t attempting to emulate anyone – not even her most distinguished collaborator. She’s made an album that only she could have made, and frankly it’s refreshing to hear a female singer from a folk background whose most obvious and overwhelming reference point isn’t Joni Mitchell via Laura Marling. A songwriter this unique and talented shouldn’t be standing in anyone’s shadow.

Cate Le Bon
7 / 10

＞＞＞http://drownedinsound.com/releases/16968/reviews/4144843

8 / 10 If you thought that Cate Le Bon might pay much heed to the notion of a career arc, then you might think she erred in 2008, introducing herself to the wider world by appearing on Gruff Rhys’ chrome-shiny and faithfully ’80s-ish Neon Neon album ‘Stainless Style’. After all, the bucolic whirring folk and rusty psychedelic garage the Cardiff resident makes under her own name could scarcely be more different. Yet a common thread can be found in ‘CYRK’, Cate’s second album: the application of a sincere pop-song sensibility, and a yen for the surreal that sidesteps the zany. Maybe that’s why Gruff has released it on his label. No doubt the vocalist’s elegantly reverbed West Walian trill helped too; likewise a production that makes it sound like an unearthed psych classic from 1971; likewise the Broadcast-y spookout ‘The Man I Wanted’, country stroller ‘Puts Me To Work’ or the raucous clatter of ‘Ploughing Out’.

Noel Gardner

＞＞＞http://www.nme.com/reviews/cate-le-bon--2/13081

“like a Valley-born Nico locked in the cupboard with The Fall” **** Q
“Cate Le Bon follows her own path” **** MOJO
“her lyrical style recalls the whimsical, pastoral fantasy of Syd Barrett and her music jumps everywhere, from garage rock to harmony pop to electronic….with it’s own sense of logic.” **** The Times
“Le Bon is someone whose take on songwriting is so sideways, it would be completely impossible for anyone else to replicate it” Guardian Guide
“like an unearthed psych classic” NME 8/10
“absolutely brilliant” Drowned In Sound
"Le Bon's days as a farmgirl in West Wales may be long behind her, but she's clearly held on to certain agricultural principles: namely, that the right amounts of patience and nurturing can produce glorious yields." Pitchfork

Cate Le Bon - 'Fold The Cloth' video

Cate Le Bon to release new album 'CYRK' in April
Singer songwriter will release her second record via Gruff Rhys' 'Ovni' label

Cate Le Bon has announced details of her new studio album 'CYRK'.

The Welsh singer songwriter will release the album, which is the second of her career so far, on April 30. It will come out on Super Furry Animals' frontman Gruff Rhys' 'Ovni' record label.

The album, which is named after the Polish word for 'circus', has been produced by Krissie Jenkins and features guest appearances from Niwl’s Sion Glyn, members of the band Racehorses and Gruff Rhys himself.

Le Bon said of the album: "'CYRK' is like a time travel travelogue which continually returns the se･･････

＞＞＞　http://www.nme.com/news/cate-le-bon/61831

Cate Le Bon Interview: Indie Artist's Country Roots, 'Cyrk' Album Discussed in Interview

CATE LE BON - PUTS ME TO WORK (OFFICIAL VIDEO)

CATE LE BON
ウェールズ出身のシンガーソングライター、Cate Le Bon(ケイト・ル・ボン)。2007年にスーパー・ファーリー・アニマルズのグリフ・リースのUKツアーのサポートを行い注目を浴びる。その後、Glastonbury、Latitude、Green Man Festivalといったフェスティヴァルでもプレイ。またネオン・ネオンのシングル"I Lust U"でもゲスト・ヴォーカルを務めている。2008年にEP"Edrych yn Llygaid Ceffyl Benthyg"を、2009年にはデビュー・アルバム"Me Oh My"をリリース。当"CMYK"は待望のセカンド・アルバムとなる。アルバムは既に大きな注目を浴びており、Q誌のレヴューで4/5点、MOJO誌でも4/5点と高評価を獲得している。



CATE LE BON "CYRK"
(ケイト・ル・ボン『CYRK』)
■品番：OVNI010 ■価格：オープン・プライス(輸入盤) ■発売日：2012年4月30日
(収録曲目)
01. Falcon Eyed
02. Puts Me To Work
03. Cyrk
04. Julia
05. Greta
06. Fold The Cloth
07. The Man I Wanted
08. Through The Mill
09. Ploughing Out Part 1
10. Ploughing Out Part 2