Skip to content
Cate Le Bon: Pompeii 12” (Mexican Summer Records, 2022)
Today it’s 85 degrees and sunny in North Carolina and I think it’s prompted many people to do some early spring cleaning. After driving all the way back from Denver with a big collection last week, the calls have continued to pour in, sending me all over North Carolina buying records. I’m way behind on email and other administrative tasks, and I’m also physically and mentally exhausted, my poor back aching after moving thousands of records. Things aren’t looking good on the rest front, either, as I’m hoping to drive to Richmond Saturday to see the big Tower 7 gig and then Charlotte on Sunday to see Judy & the Jerks. Wish me luck, folks.
Feeling scattered, I didn’t have a clear idea of what I was going to write my staff pick about this week, so I flipped through my recent arrivals stack and remembered I had been planning to write about this new Cate Le Bon album. Much like when I wrote about the BBC Sounds app a few weeks ago, I have misgivings about using my staff pick space to help prop up something that’s been getting plenty of attention from larger outlets like Pitchfork, but fuck it… I like the record.
I first heard Cate Le Bon’s music when I saw her play live. This happened at Raleigh’s Hopscotch Festival a few years ago. Hopscotch has a reputation as one of the more forward-thinking regional music festivals, and it’s always worth going. I know Hopscotch’s bookers keep an eye on the Sorry State newsletter and we can always expect a few of our favorite acts to appear on the bill. While it’s always fun to see the artists I most anticipated, often it’s just as exciting to wander around and see what’s happening, getting recommendations from friends about what they’re excited about and popping in to see what’s up. I’m pretty sure my friend Rich told me to check out Cate Le Bon’s set when she played Hopscotch a few years ago.
Hopscotch takes place in mid-September in Raleigh, when it is around 350 degrees outside with 800% humidity (that is, unless we’re being bombarded by a hurricane because, you know, that’s right in the thick of hurricane season). It’s hot and humid as shit, and you’ll sweat through your clothes just from walking around between venues. The problem only gets compounded if any of the bands prompt you to do any sort of dancing, slamming or otherwise. One big draw of catching Cate Le Bon’s set was that it took place in Memorial Hall, a traditional concert venue that’s set up for symphonies and opera more than rock bands. Which meant, importantly, air conditioning and cushy seats. I don’t think a full spa treatment would have been much more comfortable than sitting in a comfortable chair in an air conditioned space at that point in the fest.
Already feeling sweet relief course through my aching, overheated body, Le Bon’s set was revelatory that night. I hadn’t heard her music before, and between the perfect setting and just the right combination of mind-altering substances, I fell into her music like a warm bed. Her band dressed in concert black, she played a set drawn mostly from her then most recent album Crab Day, the stage littered with unconventional instruments that created a heady mix of modern-sounding synths and drum machines and strings and wind instruments that felt more at home in the fancy concert hall. It was one of those magical concert experiences that makes you a fan for life, and I spent an enjoyable few months after the gig listening to the majestic Crab Day.
I was looking forward to Pompeii, even checking out the digital singles released before the album. At first it sounded gentler and less angular than Crab Day, but at some point I got over that and now I revel in its sweetness. I saw someone mention that the record was influenced by Japanese City Pop, and I can see that in its placid yet modern grooves. While Crab Day’s art rock approach is closer to my usual preferences, I appreciate Le Bon’s songwriting so much that I’m willing to go along for the ride as she explores other sounds. Not having much frame of reference for Le Bon’s music, I can’t authoritatively tell you that this is the best album in its style to come out recently, but I can tell you I quite enjoy it, and that there’s enough grit mixed in with the sweetness to satisfy this tired, aging punk.