''Reward'' is the fifth

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

by the Welsh musician Cate Le Bon, released on 24 May 2019 by

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

Composition

''Reward'' dives into "revelatory"

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

and is a "lurid rush" of

avant-pop Avant-pop is popular music that is experimental, new, and distinct from previous styles while retaining an immediate accessibility for the listener. The term implies a combination of avant-garde sensibilities with existing elements from popular ...

music.

Critical reception

''Reward'' was met with universal acclaim reviews from critics. At

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, 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.

Track listing

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the ''Reward'' liner notes. Musicians * Cate Le Bon – vocals, guitars & synths ,

Mellotron The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical musical instrument developed in Birmingham, England, in 1963. It is played by pressing its keys, each of which causes a length of magnetic tape to contact a Capstan (tape recorder), capstan, which pulls i ...

, piano , percussion , bass * Stephen Black – bass , saxophone , clarinet *

Stella Mozgawa Stella Mozgawa is an Australian drummer and record producer, 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 is one half of the electronica duo Bel ...

– drums , percussion * H. Hawkline – percussive guitar ,

slide guitar Slide guitar is a technique for playing the guitar that is often used in blues music. It involves playing a guitar while holding a hard object (a slide) against the strings, creating the opportunity for glissando effects and deep vibratos that ...

, guitar * Samur Khouja – guitar *

Josh Klinghoffer Josh Adam Klinghoffer (born October 3, 1979) is an American musician best known for being the guitarist for the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers from 2009 to 2019, with whom he recorded two studio albums, '' I'm with You'' (2011) and '' The Geta ...

– guitar , synth * Josiah Steinbrick – percussion , synths *

Kurt Vile Kurt Samuel Vile (born January 3, 1980) is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer. He is known for his solo work, music released under the name "Kurt Vile and The Violators," and as the former lead guitarist of ...

– vocals Technical * Cate Le Bon – production * Samur Khouja – production ,

engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

* Josiah Steinbrick – production * Stephen Black – additional engineering *

Noah Georgeson Noah Georgeson (born January 19, 1975), is an American musician, record 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 ...

– mixing *

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

– mastering Artwork and design *

Phil Collins Philip David Charles Collins (born 30 January 1951) is an English musician, songwriter, record producer and actor. He was the drummer and later became the lead singer of the rock band Genesis (band), Genesis and had a successful solo career, ac ...

/ Shady Lane Productions – art direction * Ivana Kličković – photography & styling * Andrea Bennett, Lisa Breitfeld, and Christian Fritzenwanker – hair & makeup * H. Hawkline – design and layout

Charts

References

External links

* {{Authority control 2019 albums Cate Le Bon albums Mexican Summer albums Albums produced by Cate Le Bon