FULL ALBUM STREAM: CYRK
VIDEO: Fold The Cloth
Cate Le Bon ended 2011 supporting St. Vincent on a coast-to-coast tour of the USA. Annie Clark of said group was so impressed with what she heard she invited Le Bon to join her on stage for the second half of the tour as well inviting her to sing backing vocals on all her European dates.
Fresh off the back of these rapturously received shows Cate Le Bon releases her second album, CYRK on The Control Group on Jan. 17, (Stream it now at Paste or KCRW) and launches her second US headlining tour (w/ full band) on Feb. 8 in Boston.
She comes to America backed by a full band; expect extended solos and mind-bending outros as Cate journeys through the States leaving a trail of ragged rugs and broken hearts in her wake.
CYRK will be available on a limited-edition vinyl pressing of 300 hand-numbered copies and is available for pre-order now from The Control Group and Insound
What the press is saying about Cate Le Bon:
“The earliest contender for album of the year 2012 is the next level second release from one of the most original new voices to emerge in years.”
– Chris Douridas, KCRW-fm / eclectic24
“(Cate) filled her second effort with folk-pop gems that sound like they were recorded on the road during a Barnum and Bailey tour. And with her signature intricate melodies and moods that shift from gloomy to playful, you can bet she keeps us on our toes.” – NYLON
“Themes of heartbreak shaped Le Bon’s songs, injecting a note of sadness into her deep, rolling voice.” – Brooklyn Vegan
“(Cate) has all the ingredients for what it takes to be the next big thing in female art-pop: a strong persona, a unique voice, and a confident songwriting craft.”
– PASTE
Bio:
A highly successful 2010 was spent touring her debut LP Me Oh My described by Word magazine “As cymbals clash and keyboards whirl, imagine PJ Harvey’s rawness tangling with Super Furry Animals’ prog and a vocalist who forgoes folk soft asides for delicious black humor”. Cate then ended the year contemplating and conjuring up her sophomore release.
Cate entered the studio with the nucleus of a record existing in her head, lyrical ideas swam in ether as did fully formed arrangements, but it wasn’t until she began recording that these disparate ideas were drawn together and her circus tent of a record rose from the gravel ground.
Drawing on her experiences from that heady 12 months, Cate created a collection of pop nuggets that sounded like they’d fallen off the back of a broken carousel, imbued with the playfulness of Faust, Syd Barrett and the tropical melodies of Os Mutantes and stitched together with a foreboding silken lyrical thread.
Existential word play abounds and fuzz fused guitar lines tear through like an angry bee in a CAN as Cate muses on matters of the heart and the magnetic pull of the ocean.
How would you describe the album, CYRK?
Cut a remote island in two and place one half to your ear
What’s a song on your new album, CYRK, you really want people to hear?
‘The Man I Wanted’ because I have finally put down a wooden recorder track that I have not been ridiculed for… as of yet. Also, if you’re listening to it, you’re well into side 2 of the album which means there’s hope you’ll make it to the end.
What’s a lyric you’re particularly proud of on the album?
“On the worst day of his life, he’d still love more things than I like” has been misconstrued as being a melancholic lyric about how miserable I am when actually it was written as a testament to how wonderful and positive the ‘he’ in the song is (its not God, for the record).
Tour Dates
Weds Feb. 8 – Cambridge, MA @ TT The Bears
Thu Feb. 9 – New York, NY @ Mercury Lounge
Fri Feb. 10 – Hoboken, NJ @ Maxwell’s
Sat Feb. 11 – Philadelphia, PA @ KungFu Necktie
Sun Feb. 12 – Washington, DC @ DC9
Tue Feb. 14 – Chicago, IL @ Shuba’s
Thu Feb. 16 – Madison, WI @ Frequency
Fri Feb. 17 – Minneapolis, MN @ 7th Street Entry
Wed Feb. 22 – Seattle, WA @ Crocodile
Thu Feb. 23 – Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios
Fri Feb. 25 – San Francisco, CA @ The Independent (Noise Pop) *
Sun Feb. 26 – Santa Monica, CA @ McCabe’s Guitar Shop
Mon Feb. 27 – Los Angeles, CA @ Bardot Hollywood (“School Night”)
* = w/ Surfer Blood
Cate Le Bon
CYRK
(The Control Group)
Street Date: Jan. 17, 2012
1. Falcon Eyed
2. Puts Me To Work
3. CYRK
4. Julia
5. Greta
6. Fold The Cloth
7. The Man I Wanted
8. Through The Mill
9. Ploughing Out Part 1
10. Ploughing Out Part 2
Cate Le Bon
Puts Me To Work
(The Control Group)
Street Date: Sept. 27, 2011
Digital-only single
Buy now on iTunes
1. Puts Me To Work
Links: Facebook//Twitter//Official Site//Label