| Reward | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 24 May 2019 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 42:43 | |||
| Label | Mexican Summer | |||
| Producer |
| |||
| Cate Le Bon chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Reward | ||||
Reward is the fifth studio album by Welsh musician Cate Le Bon, released on 24 May 2019 by Mexican Summer.[4]
Composition
Reward dives into "revelatory" art pop and is a "lurid rush" of avant-pop music.[5][6]
Critical reception
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AnyDecentMusic? | 8.2/10[7] |
| Metacritic | 87/100[8] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [9] |
| Exclaim! | 8/10[6] |
| Financial Times |  [10] |
| The Guardian | [11] |
| Mojo | [12] |
| Pitchfork | 8.4/10[13] |
| Q | [14] |
| Rolling Stone | [5] |
| The Times | [15] |
| Uncut | 9/10[16] |
Reward was met with universal acclaim reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 87, based on 18 reviews.[8]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Miami" | 5:17 |
| 2. | "Daylight Matters" | 4:18 |
| 3. | "Home to You" | 5:27 |
| 4. | "Mother's Mother's Magazines" | 4:17 |
| 5. | "Here It Comes Again" | 3:24 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 6. | "Sad Nudes" | 3:08 |
| 7. | "The Light" | 4:51 |
| 8. | "Magnificent Gestures" | 5:00 |
| 9. | "You Don't Love Me" | 3:06 |
| 10. | "Meet the Man" | 3:55 |
| Total length: | 42:43 | |
Personnel
Credits are adapted from the Reward liner notes.[17]
Musicians
- Cate Le Bon – vocals, guitars & synths (all tracks), Mellotron (2), piano (2, 4-6, 10), percussion (3, 5, 7, 8), bass (7, 9)
- Stephen Black – bass (2-6, 8, 9), saxophone (1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10), clarinet (10)
- Stella Mozgawa – drums (2-5, 7-10), percussion (3-6)
- H. Hawkline – percussive guitar (1), slide guitar (6), guitar (9)
- Samur Khouja – guitar (9)
- Josh Klinghoffer – guitar (3, 4, 8), synth (8)
- Josiah Steinbrick – percussion (4, 6, 8), synths (4, 8, 9)
- Kurt Vile – vocals (8)
Technical
- Cate Le Bon – production (all tracks)
- Samur Khouja – production (all tracks), engineering
- Josiah Steinbrick – production (2-10)
- Stephen Black – additional engineering
- Noah Georgeson – mixing
- Heba Kadry – mastering
Artwork and design
- Phil Collins / Shady Lane Productions – art direction
- Ivana Kličković – photography & styling
- Andrea Bennett, Lisa Breitfeld, and Christian Fritzenwanker – hair & makeup
- H. Hawkline – design and layout
Charts
| Chart (2019) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Scottish Albums (OCC)[18] | 32 |
| UK Albums (OCC)[19] | 86 |
| US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[20] | 8
|
| US Independent Albums (Billboard)[21] | 32
|
| US Top Tastemaker Albums (Billboard)[22] | 35
|
References
- ^ Blais-Billie, Braudie (20 March 2019). "Cate Le Bon Announces New Album "Reward"". Pitchfork. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
- ^ "Home To You – Single by Cate Le Bon". iTunes Store. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
- ^ "The Light – Single by Cate Le Bon". iTunes Store. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
- ^ Vozick-Levinson, Simon (24 May 2019). "How Cate Le Bon Built Her Best Album Yet". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
- ^ a b Martoccio, Angie (23 May 2019). "Cate Le Bon Turns Solitude Into Revelatory Art-Pop on 'Reward'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
- ^ a b Mohammed, Jenna (21 May 2019). "Cate Le Bon: Reward". Exclaim!. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
- ^ "Reward by Cate Le Bon reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
- ^ a b "Reward by Cate Le Bon Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
- ^ Thomas, Fred. "Reward – Cate Le Bon". AllMusic. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
- ^ Hunter-Tilney, Ludovic (24 May 2019). "Cate Le Bon: Reward — square pegs and round holes". Financial Times. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
- ^ Petridis, Alexis (23 May 2019). "Cate Le Bon: Reward review – a mind unravelling in Cumbria". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
- ^ Segal, Victoria (June 2019). "Cate Le Bon: Reward". Mojo (307): 89.
- ^ Sodomsky, Sam (28 May 2019). "Cate Le Bon: Reward". Pitchfork. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
- ^ Catchpole, Chris (July 2019). "Only the Lonely". Q (399): 107.
- ^ Hodgkinson, Will (24 May 2019). "Cate Le Bon: Reward review". The Times. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
- ^ Martin, Piers (June 2019). "Cate Le Bon: Reward". Uncut (265): 30.
- ^ Reward (CD booklet). Cate Le Bon. Mexican Summer. 2019.
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
- ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
- ^ "Heatseekers Albums". Billboard. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
- ^ "Independent Albums". Billboard. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
- ^ "Tastemaker Albums". Billboard. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
