Cate Le Bon – Pompeii (Vinyl)

Pompeii,Cate Le Bonssixth full-length studio album and the follow up to 2019s Mercury- nominatedReward, bears a storied title summoning apocalypse, but the metaphor eclipses any dissection of immediacy,saysLe Bon. Not to downplay her nod to disorientation induced by double catastrophe global pandemic plus climate emergencys colliding eco-traumas resonate all too eerily. What would be your last gesture? she asks. But just as Vesuvius remains active,Pompeiireaches past the current crises to tap into whatLe Boncalls an economy of time warpwhere life roils, bubbles, wrinkles, melts, hardens, and reconfigures unpredictably, like lavaor sound, rather. Like she says in the opener, Dirt on the Bed, Sound doesnt go away / In habitual silence / It reinvents the surface / Of everything you touch.

Pompeiiis sonically minimal in parts, and its lyrics jog between self-reflection and direct address. Vulnerability, although obscured, challengesLe Bonstendencies towards irony. Written primarily on bass and composed entirely alone in an uninterrupted vacuum,Le Bonplays every instrument (except drums and saxophones) and recorded the album largely by herself with long-term collaborator and co-producerSamur Khoujain Cardiff, Wales. Enforced time and space pushed boundaries, leading to an even more extreme version of LeBon’s studio process.

Tracklist

1. Dirt on the Bed
2. Moderation
3. French Boys
4. Pompeii
5. Harbour
6. Running Away
7. Cry Me Old Trouble
8. Remembering Me
9. Wheel