''Mug Museum'' is the third studio album by Welsh musician

Cate Le Bon Cate Le Bon (born Cate Timothy on 4 March 1983) is a Welsh musician and record producer. She sings in both English and Welsh. She has released six solo studio albums, three EPs and a number of singles. Le Bon has toured with artists such as St. ...

, released on 12 November 2013 by Turnstile Music and

Wichita Recordings Wichita Recordings is an independent record label located in London, founded in 2000 by Mark Bowen and Dick Green. Its most notable signees include Bloc Party, The Cribs, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Bright Eyes, My Morning Jacket, Yeah Yeah Ye ...

. It was produced by

Noah Georgeson Noah Georgeson is an American musician, producer, engineer, mixer and solo recording artist. Georgeson's debut album '' Find Shelter'' was released through Plain Recordings on November 28, 2006. Early life and education Born in San Anselmo, ...

and

Josiah Steinbrick Josiah Steinbrick (born July 13, 1981) is an American multi-instrumentalist, composer, and record producer, currently based in Los Angeles, California, United States. Aside from his own solo works and performances with his BANANA ensemble, he ha ...

and was recorded in

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shortly after Le Bon had relocated there from Wales. The album was generally praised by critics for its understated musical arrangements and lyrical content based on the theme of relationships, which was partially inspired by the recent death of Le Bon's grandmother. The track "I Think I Knew" features a duet between Le Bon and

Perfume Genius Michael Alden Hadreas (born September 25, 1981), better known by his stage name Perfume Genius, is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. Hadreas's music explores topics including sexuality, his personal struggle with Crohn's disease, do ...

Composition and recording

''Mug Museum'' was recorded in Los Angeles in March 2013, shortly after Le Bon had relocated there from Wales. The album was produced by

, known for his work with Joanna Newsom and Devendra Banhart, and

. Le Bon's collaboration with Georgeson led to a more spare, stripped-down style compared to her previous work: "We realised that everything was sounding so good that there was this unwritten rule that things have to really deserve their place on the track to warrant being there." Le Bon's other collaborators on the album included

H. Hawkline Huw Evans (born 15 March 1985), also known as H. Hawkline, is a Welsh singer-songwriter and radio and television presenter based in Cardiff. He also lived and worked in Los Angeles for several years. He performs in both English and Welsh languag ...

, Sweet Baboo, Nick Murray, and

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

recording artist

performing guest vocals on "I Think I Knew". Le Bon described ''Mug Museum'' as a reaction to the recent death of her grandmother, stating "rather than it being a grief laden album it is more about what someone at the top of the female chain leaves behind and how there's a palpable shift in every relationship. I suppose when you start meditating on any relationship then others naturally fall into the fold. The Mug Museum is an imaginary place where relationships are looked at and thought upon." The title phrase "mug museum" was coined by a former roommate in reference to the accumulation of teacups in Le Bon's bedroom.

Critical reception

''Mug Museum'' received a positive response from music critics. At

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 77 based on 22 reviews, indicating a "generally favorable" reception.

Bob Boilen Bob B Boilen (b. April 10, 1953 in Brooklyn, New York City) is an American musician and media personality. He is the host and creator of NPR's online music show ''All Songs Considered'' and NPR's Tiny Desk Concerts series. In 1979 Bob Boilen p ...

, the host of

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

's ''

All Songs Considered ''All Songs Considered'' is a weekly online multimedia program started in January 2000 by NPR's ''All Things Considered'' director Bob Boilen. At first, the show featured information and streaming audio about the songs used as bumper music on ...

'', compared the album to the work of

Nico Naftiran Intertrade Company limited (NICO) is a Swiss-based subsidiary of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC). NICO is a general contractor for the oil and gas industry. NIOC buys the vast majority of Iran's gasoline imports. NICO is a key pl ...

and

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and wrote that "it's already become one of my new best friends". He later listed ''Mug Museum'' as one of his Top 20 albums of 2013. Writing for ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'', Ben Hewitt called the album "wonderfully weird" and praised the stripped-down musical arrangements as well as Le Bon's songwriting. Jeremy Larson of

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expressed similar sentiments, describing "small, graceful songs with deceptive amounts of depth". He also praised Le Bon's vocal performance, writing "Sometimes she sounds like the shyest member of a folksy sylvan choir and other times she rears up and belts out a high soprano note at the climax of 'Duke.'" Brian Josephs of

Consequence of Sound ''Consequence'' (previously ''Consequence of Sound'') is an independently owned New York-based online magazine featuring news, editorials, and reviews of music, movies, and television. In addition, the website also features the Festival Outlook ...

gave the album a negative review, writing that "''Mug Museum'' lacks any sort of emotional dialogue with the listener".

Track listing

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the ''Mug Museum'' liner notes. Musicians *

– vocals; guitar; percussion; piano; synthesizer; saxophone *

– bass; guitar; organ * Sweet Baboo – bass; clarinet; saxophone * Nick Murray – drums *

– guitar; organ; percussion *

– vocals *

Toko Yasuda Toko Yasuda is a Japanese singer, songwriter, keyboardist, guitarist, and bassist, best known as a member of New York indie rock band Enon and as a musician in live St. Vincent performances. Life and career Yasuda grew up in the cities of Fujis ...

– vocals Production and artwork *

– producer; mixing *

– producer * Samur Khouja – engineer * Alex DeGroot – assistant engineer * H. Hawkline – sleeve design * Piper Ferguson – cover photo

References

External links

* {{Authority control 2013 albums Cate Le Bon albums Albums produced by Noah Georgeson Albums produced by Josiah Steinbrick Wichita Recordings albums