Cate Le Bon 'Me Oh My' (Irony Bored) Released 12/10/09

Cate Le Bon doesn’t sit easily with the modern day popstar. First of all she sings in both Welsh and English and does so under a French name. She has the black eyeliner and dark outlook on life which you’d associate with  Goth and yet she is capable of writing gentle folk tracks which could well tickle your parents. Simply put Cate Le Bon is mish-mash of popular culture, both new and old.

‘Me Oh My’ her first outing in this cruel business is no different to her demeanour – a fascinating mix of morbid imagery and sedate, yet beautiful music. Oh and did I mention the dead pets? Yes Miss Le Bon attributes her darker outlook on the world down to too many pet deaths when younger. She now readily admits to an abnormal fixation with death which is manifested in the morose ‘Digging Song’ - presumably about disposing of all those pets of yesteryears.

‘Me Oh My’ ebbs and flows like some sort of Welsh lullaby of death – the title track is a space age ode to simple song writing and introduces us to her idiosyncratic style. ‘Hollow Trees House Hounds’ sounds like it would have fit in perfectly at Woodstock in the 70s with its spiky Neil Young guitar.

When Cate retreats from these outings and moves back within herself we see an outstanding songwriter in action. ‘I Rock the beat, but I don’t have time’ is a self depricating poke at herself and the music scene in ‘Sad Sad Feet’.

‘Burn Until The End’ is punctuated by a cacophony of a chorus which aptly displays Cate’s destructive side. ‘The Terror of the Man’ is a simple yet utterly fascinating piece of song writing which will have you yearning for more.

In fact the whole ten tracks and 36 minutes leave you desperate for more insight into Le Bon. The more you listen to ‘Me Oh My’ the more engrossing it proves to be and yet more baffling. It may not make a lot of sense juxtaposing folk and gothic imagery but one thing is clear – CateLe Bon has produced a mesmerising piece of work which marks her out from the pack instantly.