Review: Cate Le Bon @ Clwb
S?n presents Cate Le Bon + Perfume Genius + C.A. Smith
Clwb Ifor Bach
Thursday 6th December 2012
Prior to this addition to the S?n calendar I hadn’t quite caught the Cate Le Bon bug. The Cardiff-based singer popped up on Gruff Rhys’ Neon Neon album before issuing her own debut, My Oh My, in 2010, and this year released two albums, CYRK and CYRK II. All to critical acclaim and landing her on the Welsh Music Prize shortlist. She recently toured extensively with St. Vincent in the US and her non-identical twin brother is Meilyr Jones of Race Horses, my favourite Welsh outfit. Yet she’d featured little on my radar and this show was to make or break my views.
The evening began with C.A. Smith, whose aim is to “write good songs” and “continue living”. I’m pleased and relieved to say that both were realised in his astute set. Hailing from Ontario, Canada, and sporting the king of beards, two plaits, a sharp wit and a harmonica, he charmed. A set highlight, the instructive Drinkalottawater, began, “Brush your teeth three times a day / Make sure you floss ‘em too / Say the things you wanna say / Do what you do” and he finished with a grin.
“Are you cold? Just checking” Seattle’s Perfume Genius was next on the bill and with his two-man band in tow, maintained a hear- shattering frost with carefully building keys, deeply personal lyrics and devastatingly delicate vocals. From tales of a suicidal, paedophile high school teacher in Mr Peterson; “He let me smoke weed in his truck / If I could convince him I loved him enough”; to All Waters, a desire to lose the shackles of homophobia; “When I can take your hand / On any crowded street / And hold you close to me / With no hesitating”. Each song is full enough to deliver a quavering shot of emotion and difficult messages but short enough to avoid a slide into sentimentality. His deeply moving cover of Neil Young’s Helpless hushed Clwb; Perfume Genius was truly bewitching.
With a psychedelic PowerPoint and a mighty fine band of her own, songstress Cate Le Bon emerged to whoops and, technical drum kit error aside, gathered pace in a blast of musical colour. Opener Julia built into a blissful synth clash while single Fold The Cloth hummed with the assurance of a performer well toured. “Now is not a good time to leave me on my own,” began CYRK, taken from the Polish word for Circus. The title track to the first of this year’s albums bobbed along between smashes of psychedelica delivered with a punch of top-notch musicianship. A new song, Newie, positively bounced, the garage pop carnival of Falcon Eyed went off with a whizz and alone onstage, Cate finished the night with Wild.
A vocal mix of Nico and PJ Harvey and as sonically intriguing as any artist I’ve heard this year, Cate proved she is more than bon. She sparkled and I’ve been converted.
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Related Article: Review: Race Horses - Furniture
IMAGES: Kait Mordey
