Welsh art-rock great Cate Le Bon is releasing a new album called Pompeii, out February 4 via Mexican Summer. Along with the news, she's also shared first single "Running Away" and announced a 2022 tour that includes a stop in Toronto.
Recorded in Cardiff, Wales with long-time collaborator and co-producer Samur Khouja, Le Bon plays every instrument on Pompeii save for drums — taken on by Warpaint's Stella Mozgawa — and saxophone.
In a statement about the record, Le Bon said:
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.
First single "Running Away" comes attached to a Casey Raymond-directed video and features saxophonist Euan Hinshelwood. Check it out below, along with the Pompeii tracklist and Le Bon's upcoming tour dates.
Le Bon's last solo record was 2019's Mercury Prize-nominated Reward. Later that same year she released Myths 004, a collaborative EP with Deerhunter's Bradford Cox.
Pompeii:
1. Dirt On The Bed
2. Moderation
3. French Boys
4. Pompeii
5. Harbour
6. Running Away
7. Cry Me Old Trouble
8. Remembering Me
9. Wheel
Cate Le Bon 2022 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 Stockholm, SE - Hus 7 / Slaktkyrkan
04/08 Oslo, NO - Parkteatre
04/09 Copenhagen, DK - Small Vega
04/11 Brussels, BE - AB Box
04/12 Amsterdam, NL - Paradiso
Pre-order Pompeii.
Recorded in Cardiff, Wales with long-time collaborator and co-producer Samur Khouja, Le Bon plays every instrument on Pompeii save for drums — taken on by Warpaint's Stella Mozgawa — and saxophone.
In a statement about the record, Le Bon said:
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.
First single "Running Away" comes attached to a Casey Raymond-directed video and features saxophonist Euan Hinshelwood. Check it out below, along with the Pompeii tracklist and Le Bon's upcoming tour dates.
Le Bon's last solo record was 2019's Mercury Prize-nominated Reward. Later that same year she released Myths 004, a collaborative EP with Deerhunter's Bradford Cox.
Pompeii:
1. Dirt On The Bed
2. Moderation
3. French Boys
4. Pompeii
5. Harbour
6. Running Away
7. Cry Me Old Trouble
8. Remembering Me
9. Wheel
Cate Le Bon 2022 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 Stockholm, SE - Hus 7 / Slaktkyrkan
04/08 Oslo, NO - Parkteatre
04/09 Copenhagen, DK - Small Vega
04/11 Brussels, BE - AB Box
04/12 Amsterdam, NL - Paradiso
Pre-order Pompeii.