Staff Reviews

Cate Le Bon - Me Oh My

Review by David Renshaw

Gruff Rhys has backed a good one, now he just needs to show her the way forward. »

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rough trade exclusive with a bonus dvd featuring videos and a short film (a thriller-style short film by the visionary artist casey raymond, created for the song 'hollow trees house hounds'). after a stint as gruff rhys' right hand lady in mercury-nominated neon neon, cate le bon emerges with a stunning solo album, on rhys' own 'irony bored' label. and what an album. born out of the depths of cymru, 'me oh my' is informed by other welsh bands such as gorky's zygotic mynci (and of course) the super furry animals, as well as the rare acid-folk of these trails, linda perhacs, bran and the like. the jewel in 'me oh my's crown is without a doubt cate's voice, to which superlatives really do no justice; from the soaring vocals of 'terror of the man' to the more folksy 'digging song' or 'out to sea' - cate's larynx is a more than worthy foil for her intricate, hook-laden guitar. forget florence, ignore emmy, this is your new favourite songstress.
irony bored is a new label owned and run by gruff rhys. the name was originally a slightly suspect pun written in blood on a discarded ironing board back in 1993 by gruff as a simple manifesto for the fledgling super furry animals. having been mistaken for a work of art the ironing board was initially stolen from a recording studio and later shown at an art gallery only then to be presumed to be a load of rubbish by a janitor and taken to a cardiff debris site. the board itself may be long gone but its eventful life and boundary melting sense of adventure has now been harnessed as a recording label - irony bored. 'me oh my' is complimented with artwork by existential dj huw evans. rhys promises to crease out more multi media chaos out of the mangle of his new ironing label.
description from www.roughtrade.com