''Pompeii'' is the sixth

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by Welsh singer and producer

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 4 February 2022 by

Mexican Summer Mexican Summer is an independent record label founded in 2009 by Keith Abrahamsson and Andres Santo Domingo. Based in Brooklyn, New York, the label has released recordings from artists including Best Coast, Kurt Vile, Ariel Pink, Allah-Las, Weye ...

Background and recording

Le Bon began working on the album during the first wave of the

COVID-19 pandemic in Wales The COVID-19 pandemic was confirmed to have spread to Wales on 28 February 2020, with a case being reported in the Swansea area; this first known case was a person who had recently returned from Italy. The first known case of community transm ...

, in a

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

Victorian terrace owned by fellow Welsh musician

Gruff Rhys Gruffudd Maredudd Bowen Rhys (; born 18 July 1970) is a Welsh musician, composer, producer, filmmaker and author. He performs solo and with several bands, including Super Furry Animals, which obtained mainstream success in the 1990s. He formed ...

Composition

Musically, ''Pompeii'' takes on "penetrating"

art pop Art pop (also typeset art-pop or artpop) is a loosely defined style of pop music influenced by art theories as well as ideas from other art mediums, such as fashion, fine art, cinema, and avant-garde literature. The genre draws on pop art's ...

. It is also influenced by Japanese

city pop is a loosely defined form of Japanese pop music that emerged in the late 1970s and peaked in the 1980s. It was originally termed as an offshoot of Japan's Western-influenced "new music", but came to include a wide range of styles – including ...

, with the style reflected in Le Bon's

synth A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and f ...

work.

Critical reception

Track listing

Personnel

– vocals, guitar, bass guitar, synthesizers, piano, percussion,

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

* Samur Khouja – production, mixing,

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...

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. His s ...

– co-production, design, photography *

Heba Kadry Heba Kadry is an Egyptian mastering engineer who currently resides in Brooklyn, New York. She is best known for her work with Bjork, Beach House, Slowdive, The Mars Volta, Neon Indian, Wooden Shjips, Lightning Bolt, White Hills, Alex G, Future ...

– mastering * Simon Berckelman – engineering * Euan Hinshelwood – saxophone, vocal engineering *

Stella Mozgawa Stella Mozgawa is an Australian drummer, best known as a member of the indie rock band Warpaint, with whom she has recorded four studio albums. Alongside her work with Warpaint, Mozgawa has contributed to recordings by musicians Kurt Vile, Ada ...

– drums *

Stephen Black Stephen Black (born 5 April 1980) is an Australian former professional basketball player who played 11 seasons in the National Basketball League (NBL). He is the son of Alan Black. Born in Melbourne, Victoria, Black attended the Australian ...

– saxophone,

clarinet The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches ...

* Chloe Dadd – engineering assistance * Casey Raymond – photography

Charts

References

External links

* 2022 albums Cate Le Bon albums Mexican Summer albums Albums produced by Cate Le Bon {{2020s-rock-album-stub