Cate Le Bon - CYRK Review
Posted by Nick Krenn on 01.17.2012
This is one of 2012's first albums with true sleeper potential. Listen to it now, and I guarantee it will grow on you throughout the year.
1. Falcon Eyed
2. Puts Me To Work
3. CYRK
4. Julia
5. Greta
6. Fold The Cloth
7. The Man I Wanted
8. Through The Mill
9. Ploughing Out Part 1
10. Ploughing Out Part 2
It's easy to understand why St. Vincent's Annie Clark asked Welsh singer Cate Le Bon to join her on tour. Le Bon possesses the same experimental songcraft as Clark. However, the two artists differ in their sound. St. Vincent's albums are polished through tight production whereas CYRK sounds like it was recorded live. The band certainly treats it like one while taking instrumental detours in many of the songs before finishing them off. Many of these moments feel improvised, but they payoff in exciting fashion to make CYRK a pleasant surprise in early 2012.
It'd be easy to write-off CYRK after the album's opening track, "Falcon Eyed", a lo-fi garage rock number that doesn't even hint at what's to come on the rest of the album. Le Bon made a comment that if you're listening to "The Man I Wanted", you're well into side 2 of the album which means there's hope you'll make it to the end. What's funny is that the second half of CYRK proves to be stronger than the first, though the album is consistently good once the title track begins. Combining elements of rock, folk, avant-garde, and psychedelia, no song sticks with one genre or influence. Le Bon has hinted at some Syd Barrett love on the album, and the psychedelic influence is apparent on "Julia". Le Bon's interesting sidetracks continue into the following track, "Greta", with a jazz horn freakout in its finish.
CYRK is lyrically strong as well. The previously mentioned, "The Man I Wanted", is an honest portrayal of love and admiration. If it pours in the daytime / We'll have to stay in doors / I milk the time your sat with me, sings Le Bon. She plays with her voice throughout CYRK, but it doesn't sound prettier than the album's closing two-parter "Ploughing Out Part 1" and "Part 2". While Le Bon uses vocal effects on the song's second part, her voice is stripped down to fragile form on the first part, exuding a sweet vulnerability. It's a great bait and switch for the album's second collision of manic horns to close out the album.
The 411: CYRK threw me through a loop. I didn't necessarily know what to expect before I listened to it, but I never expected it to blow me away. This is one of 2012's first albums with true sleeper potential. Listen to it now, and I guarantee it will grow on you throughout the year.
