Cate Le Bon. Photo by H Hawkin.
Cate Le Bon served up a strong album in 2019 called Reward, a project that nodded to the progressive pop songwriting of the '70s. Today, the Welsh musician has announced her fifth solo studio album Pompeii with its first single, a gentle interstellar disco track named "Running Away." Casey Raymond directs Le Bon in the song's music video, a laser-filled performance featuring Le Bon as a cathode ray nun, a stoic saxophone player, and a lot of lasers.
Le Bon described the conception and recording of Pompeii in a detailed press statement:
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Pompeii was written and recorded in a quagmire of unease. Solo. In a time warp. In a house I had a life in 15 years ago. I grappled with existence, resignation and faith. I felt culpable for the mess but it smacked hard of the collective guilt imposed by religion and original sin.
The subtitle is: You will be forever connected to everything. Which, depending on the time of day, is as comforting as it is terrifying. The sense of finality has always been here. It seems strangely hopeful. Someone is playing with the focus lens. The world is on fire but the bins must go out on a Tuesday night. Political dissonance meets beauty regimes. I put a groove behind it for something to hold on to. The grief is in the saxophones.
Watch the video for "Running Away" below, followed by Le Bon's upcoming tour dates.
Cate Le Bon tour dates
02/06 – Woodstock, NY – Colony
02/08 – New York, NY – Bowery Ballroom
02/09 – New York, NY – Bowery Ballroom
02/11 – Toronto, ON – Great Hall
02/14 – Chicago, IL –Thalia Hall
02/16 – Portland, OR – Wonder Ballroom
02/17 – Seattle, WA – Crocodile
02/19 – San Francisco, CA – Great American Music Hall
02/20 – San Luis Obispo, CA – The Rock / SLO Brew Music Hall
02/24 – Los Angeles, CA – Teragram Ballroom
02/26 – Pioneertown, CA – Pappy’s
03/12 – Southampton, UK – Engine Rooms
03/15 – London, UK – Hackney Empire
03/16 – Manchester, UK – Albert Hall
03/17 – Glasgow, UK – Queen Margaret Union
03/18 – Belfast, IE – Empire Music Hall
03/19 – Dublin, IE – The National Concert Hall
03/21 – Liverpool, UK – Arts Club
03/22 – Leeds, UK – Irish Centre
03/23 – Birmingham, UK – The Mill
03/28 – Lille, FR – L’Aeronef
03/29 – Paris, FR – La Maroquinerie
03/31 – Lyon, FR – Epicerie Moderne
04/01 – Zurich, CH – Bogen F
04/02 – Schorndorf, DE – Manufaktur
04/03 – Leipzig, DE – UT Connewitz
04/05 – Berlin, DE – Frannz Club
04/06 – Hamburg, DE – Nochtspeicher
04/07 – Hus 7 / Slaktkyrkan – Stockholm, SE
04/08 – Oslo, NO – Parkteatre
04/09 – Copenhagen, DK – Small Vega
04/11 – Brussels, BE – AB Box
04/12 – Amsterdam, NL – Paradiso
