Cate

After a decade of living in the California desert and dealing with the fallout of a long-term relationship, Cate Le Bon moved back to her native Wales, surrounded herself with family and friends, and began working on her new record. Its overall theme changed over time and ultimately evolved into an album about love and its aftermath.

Michelangelo Dying was not intended as a breakup album – Le Bon initially had something else in mind entirely – but the pull of the more personal subject matter was something she couldn’t resist. Within her unique production signature, Le Bon embraces synthesized arrangements and the languid, sophisticated sheen of late-period Roxy Music. “Gently read my name / Cry and find me here,” she sings in the lush, woozy opener, “Jerome”. “I’m eating rocks and so it goes.” In “Love Unrehearsed”, a simple, insistent beat frames the synth-heavy New Romantic groove. The sound is pure and timeless, with Le Bon’s graceful voice capturing her emotional surrender.

Le Bon wears her influences on her sleeve and isn’t particularly cagey about it. There’s no denying David Bowie‘s theatrical elegance on the swelling ballad “Is It Worth It (Happy Birthday)”, yet it still sounds utterly like something only Le Bon could come up with. The soulful despair in her voice often blurs the lines between Annie Lennox, Kate Bush, and Alison Moyet.