Cate Le Bon Provides Respite From Reality on ‘Crab Day’ (ALBUM REVIEW)

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cate2Cate Le Bon’s songs seem to start in the middle of things. They force you to occasionally glance down at your music player of choice to see if some sort of skip has taken place. Not one for traditional song structure, Le Bon’s verses bleed into choruses at different moments, words are repeated for emphasis, and a sharp out-of-nowhere falsetto can serve as a major change in tempo. Similarly, the music chugs along at odd intervals; nervy guitars sharply anchor clipped melodies that give off the air of workshop rehearsal sessions rather than polished and complete recordings. If this sounds like a recipe for disaster, then you will likely be in for a surprise because Le Bon’s latest album, Crab Day is a remarkable listen, one that challenges and demands a bit in terms of attention and focus, but one that ultimately stands up as one of the young year’s best.

The title track that kicks things off is apparently the joint creation of Ms. Le Bon and her niece as the youngster was none too fond of the shenanigans displayed during April Fool’s Day. However, the opening lyric-repeated many times in a kind of hypnotic reverie-ring true in a decidedly unfortunate non-April 1st manner. “It doesn’t pay to sing your songs”, she intones over a trippy ring of guitar and keyboards. It’s a neat choice of words as she could just as easily be referencing an important detail for the mystical trip ahead as she could be slyly winking at the pitfalls of her chosen profession. While the rest of the song is filled with eccentric imagery and imaginative visions: “Swim across to greet me on Crab Day”, the opening salvo brings blunt realism to the working world of 21st Century musicians and storytellers.

The remaining tracks follow a similar roadmap both thematically and stylistically. “Wonderful” is created around a maddening musical arrangement that moves to dizzying heights. The jangly arrangement crinkles along like its’ trying to find its’ way out of a paper bag, only to squashed back in right when the chorus (a simple repeat of the word “wonderful”) hits. “I was Born On The Wrong Day” jaunts along on the strengths of a buoyant piano line, a dirty saxophone riff, and a creepily claustrophobic guitar solo. In this perspective, a simple story about a birth certificate mixup turns downright macabre. Next, “We Might Resolve” skitters towards an unenviable destination with LeBon serving as a hesitant narrator of possible doom.

Despite all this, Le Bon is no Goth or dark dweller of fatalism. There’s subtle humor in these songs, and little moments where she appears to remind you not to take things so seriously. She’s also capable of crafting moments of beauty: the ballad “Love Is Not Love” and the catchy mid-tempo “I’m A Dirty Attic” shine forth with heartfelt sentimentality and just a hint of sadness. There’s true emotion here and an air of melancholy that evokes pure pop craftsmanship.

Crab Day builds upon the template utilized by Le Bon on her previous album, Mug Museum. It also throws in some madcap elements reminiscent of and perhaps leftover from her collaboration last year with White Fence’s Tim Pressley on the DRINKS project. A respite from reality scored by a lively and unpredictable musical blanket makes for dynamic listening. It’s the type of thing that can keep Ms. Le Bon’s star rising.

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