Photo: WENN
As is fast becoming the fashion, Cate Le Bon has presented new album Crab Day in full on her promotional tour, which ends tonight at Chat’s Palace in Hackney, London.
It's a risky move that relies on the loyalty and patience of the crowd, as well as having a strong set of songs to offer. Fortunately all these things seem to be in place in London tonight, and Le Bon and her band (a veritable who's who of Welsh music, featuring long-term collaborators Sweet Baboo and H Hawkline) are on fine fettle.
One noticeable aspect of Le Bon’s career to date is that all of her albums, from whimsical Me Oh My to the psychedelia-tinged Cyrk and melodic Mug Museum, has its own distinct footprint. On first listen, Crab Day is the spiky record, full of insistent beats and angular guitars. Lead single ‘Wonderful’ is a fine microcosm of this new style and stands out immediately as a song of real quality.
There are times when the pounding rhythms of the new record, played as it is in its entirety, threaten to overwhelm the senses. But just at the right time relief is offered through the deft use of a softer melody. In less skilful hands, the balance could have easily been wrong, but skill is one thing Le Bon has in spades.
A three-song encore draws entirely from Mug Museum; the artist perhaps recognising the need for melody to warm the assembled audience before a cold journey through the North London streets. A bewitching rendition of the title track is followed by a liberated ‘I Can't Help You’ and the ever-gorgeous ‘Are You With Me Now?’.
As ever with Le Bon, tonight’s whole trajectory is carefully-crafted. With the Crab Day tour it’s not always an easy journey, but one full of reward for those who follow her to the final destination.
