Cate Le Bon
“Reward” EP
Release Date: 2019
Reviewed by Trish McBee
Genre: Alternative Rock, Indie Rock
RIYL: St. Vincent, Deerhunter, David Bowie, Kate Bush, Kurt Vile

Fifth album by Cate Le Bon, a Welsh musician and producer. She sings in both English and Welsh. The trademarks of her sound are blasts of saxophone, music box percussion, silvery, oblong guitar licks. Lovely, airy, occasionally rocking songs are underpinned by elliptical lyrics and seeping loneliness. Very avant-garde. “Reward often feels like a pull between solitude and isolation, two modes of being alone: one peaceful and the other absolutely terrifying. These are wonderfully strange pop songs, with a sense of mystery and meaning behind every hand-crafted hook.”

1.*(05:17) Miami. Really interesting song. Love the baritone sax. Synth guitar and booming saxophone pair up to reflect the city of art deco bliss. Bowie-ish ballad. Opens with what sounds like chimes, either of a clock or a distant bell.
2. (4:18) Daylight Matters. Slow song, angelic voice. Slightly off-kilter take on soft rock. Album’s first single.
3.(5:27) Home to You. A bit haunting.
4.***(4:17) Mother’s Mother’s Magazines. Art punk. Plucky guitar. Sparse bass line and guitar arrangement interrupted by staccato sax honking is appealingly curious.
5.(3:25) Here it Comes Again. Gentle, beguiling drift. Lovely song.
6.(3:09) Sad Nudes. Mournful ballad. Hazy piano.
7.(4:52) The Light. An elastic band of horns and ricocheting piano keys.
8.**(5:01) Magnificent Gestures. Starts off in a feverish sweat and features backing vocals from Kurt Vile. Trippy expedition into art-pop territory.
9.**(3:07) You Don’t Love Me. Cool staccato baritone sax.
10.**(3:56) Meet the Man. Woozy keys. Very Sharon Van Etten-ish. Really interesting song composition.