Music Review: Cate Le Bon, Mug Museum

By Melissa Bratcher

Cate Le Bon’s newest release, Mug Museum, is like something out of a fever dream. A wild mish mash of instrumental slashes and dips, coupled with Welsh native Le Bon’s unusual, beguiling voice and curious phrasing, Mug Museum is challenging listening.

Her voice and phrasing are both reminiscent of German chanteuse Nico, and sometimes her lyrics are impenetrable. She is bold with her choices vocally, reaching up into the very edge of her range on the arpeggio jumping Duke. Her high register is breathtaking on “Are You With Me Now,” perfectly in her range.

Mug Museum is inventive instrumentally as well. The opening track, “I Can’t Help You” has a nice loping bass line and angular guitar. A piano pounds away on the chorus. On “Mirror Me” an organ is having its own party under a strummed guitar and heart beat tempo drum. Le Bon’s voice here has space to breathe. “Cuckoo Through The Walls” is a noise collage with insistent drumming. The title track features Le Bon’s unconventional voice and a piano, and perhaps creaking bed springs? A rocking chair on linoleum? as well as a double tracked clarinet to ratchet up the atmosphere.

The uptempo songs are a relief here. The carefully curated sound portraits of the first four tracks became somnolent, but “I Think I Knew” is livelier with its eerie keyboard riff. Better yet, is “Wild.” With dirty keyboard, grungy guitar it’s gloriously dissonant and breaks apart beautifully. “Sisters” is driving and memorable. It feels dangerous. Lots of different musical ideas bump together and break away, and the organ is both shimmering and scary.

Mug Museum sounds like a warmer Nico fronting Television. Cate Le Bon has a definite musical vision and is adept at creating a very specific, inventive sound.

Mug Museum is out today from Wichita Recordings in North America and Turnstile/The Elite Meat Supply in the rest of the world.

Tour Dates:
12/03 San Francisco, CA – Rickshaw Stop ~
12/05 Portland, OR – Doug Fir Lounge ~
12/06 Seattle, WA – Barboza ~^
12/07 Boise, ID – Neurolux ~
12/09 Salt Lake City – Kilby Court ~
12/11 Denver, CO – Larimer Lounge
12/13 Phoenix, AZ – Pub Rock Live ~
12/14 Los Angeles, CA – Bootleg Bar ~
01/07 Dallas, TX – Three Links
01/08 Houston, TX – Fitzgerald’s
01/09 New Orleans, LA – The New Orleans Mint
01/10 Birmingham, AL – The Bottletree
01/11 Decatur, GA – Eddie’s Attic
01/12 Carrboro, NC – Cat’s Cradle Back Room
01/14 Charlottesville, VA – The Southern
01/15 Washington DC – DC9
01/16 New York, NY – Mercury Lounge
01/17 Philadelphia, PA – Boot & Saddle
01/18 Boston, MA – Middle East Upstairs
01/20 Montreal, QC – Il Motore
01/21 Toronto, ON – The Drake Hotel
01/22 Pontiac, MI – The Pike Room at The Crofoot
01/23 Chicago, IL – Schubas
01/24 Madison, WI – The Frequency
01/25 Minneapolis, MN – 7th St. Entry
01/27 Kansas City, MO – Record Bar
01/28 Norman, OK – The Opolis
01/29 Austin, TX – The Mohawk
01/31 Tucson, AZ – Club Congress
02/01 San Diego – Soda Bar

~ = w/ Kevin Morby
^ = w/ Basia Bulat