Check out our list of recommended festival picks and tips for the 20th Anniversary of San Francisco's Noise Pop Festival.

By Bill Pearis Siren singer. Champion skronky guitar solo-er. Drone princess. Dressed in an iridescent dark green smock-frock, Welsh singer Cate Le Bon looked a like Crannogmen royalty at Mercury Lounge last night (2/9), where she held court over a rapt, smiling audience. Those who didn't come as fans left as converts. There is nobody quite like her and, for me, this is the current show to beat for 2012. Previous visits from Le Bon have been mostly solo, [...]

Bang on the money this week: gin in hand, more snow outside, Andy Williams is playing… You know that feeling (maybe?) that you just want something to dance to that your Dad used to play on vinyl when you were small… I still have the moves, Pops: Can't Take My Eyes Off You , followed by a bit of Moon River . Anyway, enough of that. You can just hear that needle ripping across the record… focus, focus. This week I'm enjoying Cate Le Bon's Puts Me [...]

That right there is the very incredible Cate Le Bon , who, whenever she isn't playing around with horseys, makes excellent music. Le Bon's new album CYRK is flat-out terrific, a lightly LSD-dipped gambol through Velvets-y noir rock, cool Gallic pop, and pastoral British-Empire psychedelia. The Welsh musician comes to Mississippi Studios on Thursday, February 23 , and you'll be able to read lots more about her in the Mercury in a couple weeks. In the meantime, though, we're giving away a pair of tickets to the show! All you have to [...]

Photos by G. Cate Le Bon On February 9, 2012, Welsh singer Cate Le Bon performed at New York's Mercury Lounge. Telling the audience how much fun she was having seeing us "hot pieces of asses," Cate Le Bon played an hour long set that featured songs from her records "Me Oh My" and 20122s "Cyrk." If you are unfamiliar with Cate Le Bon's music, here's a brief primer. First off, she's not related to Duran Duran lead singer Simon Le Bon (ha!) Musically, she is a [...]

Last week we announced that Cate Le Bon would be releasing her new album, CYRK , on April 30th through Ovni, but now the Welsh singer-songwriter has unveiled a bunch of tour dates to coincide with the release. You can catch her at the following dates: April 23rd – Album launch party @ Village Underground, London 24th – Soup Kitchen, Manchester 25th – Sneaky Pete's, Edinburgh 26th – Harley, Sheffield 28th – The [...]

Following the news that she will be releasing her new album Cyrk this spring, Cate Le Bon has unveiled the dates of her UK tour. Kicking off ahead of its release on 30 April the string of dates will include a special circus themed album launch party in London. April 23 - Album launch party @ Village Underground, London 24 - Soup Kitchen, Manchester 25 - Sneaky Pete's, Edinburgh 26 - Harley, Sheffield 28 - The Printhaus, Cardiff

And Ms. Marian Fahey McLaughlin has why you should come out indeed: After spending the afternoon in a crazed hunting state crouched over crates of records at the DC Record Fair, wind down the day with dark and delicate folk music from Cate Le Bon and Marian Fahey McLaughlin. Sure, you might be excited to give your finds an immediate spin, but in case you want to extend your musical experience into the evening, come over to DC9 by 7:30 for a bill of two girls with guitars. [...]

by Bill Pearis DOWNLOAD : Cate Le Bon - Puts Me to Work (MP3) DOWNLOAD : Ed Vallance - Crystaline (MP3) DOWNLOAD : Old Monk - Warm Moustache (MP3) Veronica Falls Veronica Falls are back for what is, by far, their biggest NYC show to date: they play Music Hall of Williamsburg on Thursday . The band's debut was my #2 [...]
Welsh songstress Cate Le Bon is at T.T. the Bear's tonight, and we have one pair of tickets to give away. In last week's Phoenix, music writer Jonathan Donaldson profiled the Le Bon, writing:... Support indie media! Read the rest at thephoenix.com . . .

Having released her debut album Me Oh My in 2009, Cate Le Bon has revealed she will be releasing her sophomore full-length effort this Spring. The Polish word for "circus", CYRK is due out on 30 April via Turnstile Records, the track listing is as follows: 1. Falcon Eyed 2. Puts Me To Work 3. Cyrk 4. Julia 5. Greta 6. Fold The Cloth 7. The Man I Wanted 8. Through The Mill 9. Ploughing Out Part 1 10. [...]

One of our favourite Welsh artists, Cate Le Bon , has announced she'll be releasing her second album through Gruff Rhys' Ovni label (Turnstile) this April. "How would I describe the album? Cut a remote island in two and place one half to your ear…" If that quote doesn't pique your interest, we don't know what will. The album is released on April 30th, and you can see the tracklisting below. 'CYRK' Tracklisting: Falcon Eyed Puts Me To [...]

Here are the best of our January posts together with a few tasty new tracks. All in all nearly forty great tunes compiled and neatly presented in one lovely mix. As always, don't forget to check out all our previous monthly mixes listed in the sidebar on the left. Download Night Genes – Soaring Through The Chromosomes mp3 (from Like The Blood) Infectiously catchy, military folk stomp. A real gem. Download Cheyenne Marie Mize – Wishing Well mp3 (from We Don't Need EP) A mix of r&b tinged staccato vocals [...]

Cate Le Bon 's sophomore CYRK is a brilliant follow-up to her whimsical Me Oh My . There are so many interesting moments in this record, Greta trails along to the final sounds of a trumpet and a marching band beat, Falcon Eyed is a punky up-beat jam, The Man I Wanted is a lazy rock lullaby, Ploughing Out 2 is the most removed - with a muffled vocal effect and jangly percussion - she's definitely grown in confidence with more of that full band sound. She's most certainly detached herself from any comparison to [...]
Now that we're coming up on the end of the first month of 2012, the number of new releases from indie and alternative rock artists and bands are starting to stack up. Last week, we featured new releases from a bunch of DIY bands - most of who sent us fresh, legal tracks from just [...] Read more, get songs or stream the entire mix on Indie Rock Cafe
Not surprisingly, the latest release from Pollard & Co. draws the attention (and admiration) of Drake . -ed. The 'Classic' lineup of Guided By Voices returns with two new releases in 2012 Words : Drake Lelane 2012 continues to be slow, with only the excellent return of Guided By Voices to show for this week. Looking back through my archives, by this time last year we'd already had several albums of note, including Wire, Smith Westerns, British [...]

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars It's possible that you haven't yet heard of any work from Cate Le Bon , nor even heard of her, for that matter, as this is only her sophomore effort from her and her backing band. Some things you should know before we proceed: Yes that is a Welsh accent. Yes, Le Bon's debut EP was a Welsh language release. Yes, her voice is exquisitely interesting. No, it is not the only thing worth talking about on CYRK [...]
The 'Classic' lineup of Guided By Voices returns with the first of two releases for 2012. 2012 continues to be slow, with only the excellent return of Guided By Voices to show for this week. Looking back through my archives, by this time last year we'd already had several albums of note, including Wire, Smith Westerns, British Sea Power and the debut from Tennis. Other releases of note include the latest from Kathleen Edwards, The Big Pink, Frankie Rose and Herman Dune. Playlist: New Releases 01.17.12 [...]
Cate Le Bon - Fold The Cloth
While Cate Le Bon debuted with a dark side, her follow-up, CYRK , shows the first signs of the Cardiff-based songstress leaving that identity behind. Her haunting, Welsh-infused vocals stand as the driving force behind an album of mixed traits, mingling the familiar gloom with experimental pop. These newfound pop allowances are poised to bring Le Bon a breakout year. Le Bon has previously allowed her unforgettable Nico-esque whisper to carry her efforts, stealing the spotlight from any off-kilter instrumental work. Such is not always the case for this album, with the emphatic piano and guitar playing [...]