Pompeii (Cate Le Bon album)

Pompeii is the sixth studio album by Welsh singer and producer Cate Le Bon, released on 4 February 2022 by Mexican Summer.

Pompeii
Studio album by
Released4 February 2022 (2022-02-04)
Studio
  • Plantagenet Street (Wales)
  • Studiowz (Sir Benfro)
  • Golden Retriever Studio (Sydney)
  • Vacant TV Studios (London)
GenreArt pop
Length43:18
LabelMexican Summer
Producer
  • Cate Le Bon
  • Samur Khouja
Cate Le Bon chronology
Reward
(2019)
Pompeii
(2022)
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic85/100[1]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Clash8/10[3]
DIY[4]
Exclaim!8/10[5]
The Independent[6]
The Line of Best Fit8/10[7]
NME[8]
The Observer[9]
Pitchfork8.5/10[10]
The Times[11]

Background and recording

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Le Bon began working on the album during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Wales, in a Cardiff Victorian terrace owned by fellow Welsh musician Gruff Rhys.[12]

Composition

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Musically, Pompeii takes on "penetrating" art pop.[8] It is also influenced by Japanese city pop,[3] with the style reflected in Le Bon's synth work.[5]

Critical reception

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Year-end lists
Publication List Rank Ref.
BrooklynVegan Indie Basement: Top 40 Albums of 2022 32 [13]
Exclaim! Exclaim!'s 50 Best Albums of 2022 30 [14]
The Forty-Five Albums of the year 2022 30 [15]
Mojo The 50 Best Albums of 2022 21 [16]
New Commute New Commute's Albums of the Year N/A [17]
Northern Transmission Top 50 Albums of 2022 47
ourculture The 50 Best Albums of 2022 21 [18]
Paste The 50 Best Albums of 2022 15 [19]
Pitchfork The 50 Best Albums of 2022 20 [20]
Pitchfork The 38 Best Rock Albums of 2022 N/A [21]
Slant Magazine The 50 Best Albums of 2022 48 [22]
Slate The Best Albums of 2022 Honorable Mention [23]
Treble The 50 Best Albums of 2022 10 [24]
Uncut Best New Albums of 2022 13 [25]
Under the Radar The 100 Best Albums of 2022 36 [26]

Track listing

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All tracks are written by Cate Le Bon

Side one
No.TitleLength
1."Dirt on the Bed"4:28
2."Moderation"4:04
3."French Boys"5:14
4."Pompeii"4:35
5."Harbour"4:08
Side two
No.TitleLength
6."Running Away"5:43
7."Cry Me Old Trouble"5:04
8."Remembering Me"4:34
9."Wheel"5:28
Total length:43:18

Personnel

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Charts

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Chart performance for Pompeii
Chart (2022) Peak
position
Portuguese Albums (AFP)[27] 43
Scottish Albums (OCC)[28] 15
UK Albums (OCC)[29] 70
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[30] 6

References

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  1. ^ "Pompeii by Cate Le Bon Reviews and Tracks - Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
  2. ^ Thomas, Fred. "Pompeii on Allmusic". AllMusic.
  3. ^ a b Neale, Matthew (February 2022). "Cate le Bon - Pompeii | Reviews". Clash. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
  4. ^ "Cate Le Bon - Pompeii". DIY. 3 February 2022.
  5. ^ a b Ranta, Alan (1 February 2022). "Cate Le Bon Turns Isolation into a Creative Eruption on 'Pompeii'". Exclaim!. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
  6. ^ O'Connor, Roisin (3 February 2022). "Album reviews: Black Country New Road, Bastille, Cate Le Bon and Animal Collective". The Independent.
  7. ^ Lilly, Evan (3 February 2022). "Cate Le Bon daringly explores the obscure corners of pop on Pompeii". The Line of Best Fit.
  8. ^ a b hunt, El (2 February 2022). "Cate Le Bon – 'Pompeii' review: penetrating art-pop with a surreal sense of isolation". NME.
  9. ^ Mongredien, Phil (30 January 2022). "Cate Le Bon: Pompeii review introspective isolation album". The Observer.
  10. ^ Pelly, Jenn (7 February 2022). "Cate Le Bon: Pompeii Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
  11. ^ Hodgkinson, Will (3 February 2022). "The best new music to listen to this week". The Times.
  12. ^ Power, Ed (29 January 2022). "Cate Le Bon was stranded in Wales so she made a lockdown album". The Irish Times.
  13. ^ Pearis, Bill (22 December 2022). "Indie Basement: Top 40 Albums of 2022". BrooklynVegan. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
  14. ^ "Exclaim!'s 50 Best Albums of 2022 | Exclaim!". exclaim.ca. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
  15. ^ Gunn, Charlotte (1 December 2022). "Albums of the year 2022". The Forty-Five. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
  16. ^ "The 50 Best Albums Of 2022". Mojo. 22 December 2022. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
  17. ^ "New Commute Albums of the Year 2022". New Commute. 10 December 2022. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
  18. ^ Culture, Our (7 December 2022). "The 50 Best Albums of 2022". Our Culture. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
  19. ^ "The 50 Best Albums of 2022". pastemagazine.com. 21 November 2022. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
  20. ^ "The 50 Best Albums of 2022". Pitchfork. 6 December 2022. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
  21. ^ "The 38 Best Rock Albums of 2022". Pitchfork. 7 December 2022. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
  22. ^ Slant Staff (7 December 2022). "The 50 Best Albums of 2022". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
  23. ^ Wilson, Carl (9 December 2022). "The Best Albums of 2022". Slate Magazine. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
  24. ^ staff, Treble (6 December 2022). "The 50 Best Albums of 2022". Treble. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
  25. ^ Uncut (19 December 2022). "Uncut's Best New Albums Of 2022". UNCUT. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
  26. ^ "Under the Radar Magazine". www.undertheradarmag.com. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
  27. ^ "Portuguesecharts.com – Cate Le Bon – Pompeii". Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  28. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
  29. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
  30. ^ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
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