Cate Le Bon - Reward

Cate Le Bon - Reward art pop, neo-psychedelia 2019

Moving between a sophisti-pop flirtation and her usual quirky art folk approach, Cate Le Bon, who is extremely underrated even if Mug Museum was a fantastic album, has made a perfectly professional if somewhat soulless record. I guess it is bouncy enough but it sure drags in places, like the interminable "Home To You" which feels like it will never get there, and the meandering and formless "Magnificent Gestures". I still prefer Mug Museum to this release, but I like that she is still committed to changing things up. However I think this album is much better than Crab Days. Her top-shelf production skills are well-known and strongly in evidence here, along with the usual talented line-up of backing musicians. The outro "Meet The Man" has this quality of collapsing in on itself, and by the end of the record the reward the listener has waited patiently for seems infinitely deferred. Also her writing skills makes me feel curious. I love instrumentation particularly which really adds to her writing on this especially with some of the more repetitive lyrics. Very introspective and kinda sad in general but there's mystery in her metaphors that keeps me really interested.

9.5/10