Cate Le Bon

Me Oh My (The Control Group)

By Dana Raidt
Published: May 12th, 2010 | 7:00am

A lot is said about the importance of negative space in visual art, but what about in music? When you think about it, what we don’t hear while listening to a song means just as much as what we do hear. Without the distraction of layer upon layer of sound, overdubbed vocals, and extravagant guitar solos—which of course all have their place—the right musician can weave brilliance out simple instrumentation and no-frills songwriting. On her debut full-length album, Welsh singer-songwriter Cate Le Bon creates folk-pop music that is minimalist yet never feels incomplete.

Me Oh My’s songs journey from sparse acoustic guitar and harmonica to alien-sounding keyboards to orchestral swells and back again, often within the same song. Haunting, ethereal, and sometimes sweet, the songs on Me Oh My bring to mind everyone from Nico (“Digging Song”) to Frida Hyvönen (“It’s Not the End”) to Scout Niblett (“Shoeing the Bones”), but Le Bon’s intimate arrangements, hypnotic vocals, and dark lyrics put her in a category all her own.

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Cate Le Bon official Web site

Cate Le Bon MySpace page

The Control Group