To be quite honest, I am not a huge fan of singer/songwriters. There’s nothing interesting to me about a guy or gal strumming on his/her acoustic guitar and lamenting over failed relationships or the government. When I first caught wind that Cate Le Bon was set to release her sophomore record, I was a bit hesitant. But I listened to it anyway. And then I listened to it again…and again…and, oh, you get the point.

What sets this Welsh songstress apart from her fellow singer/songwriters is her orchestration. Le Bon is not just a chick with a guitar. A four-piece band accompanies her, rounding out and filling every inch of space with sound. Her music is complex while remaining straightforward. It is pop with a tinge of psychedelic. It’s catchy but intelligent. And the avant-pop chanteuse’s disaffected, at times monotone, delivery is spot on, allowing the instrumentation as much recognition as her vocals.

Le Bon’s alto voice and cool vocal delivery is reminiscent of the famed Nico, and paired with her jangling musical arrangement, it’s hard not to compare her sound to the iconic 1967 album, The Velvet Underground & Nico, minus the controversial subject matter and drug/Andy Warhol influences.

CYRK is much more tame, comprised of 10 cohesive, straightforward tracks. It begins with “Falcon Eyed,” a simple, melodic tune featuring Le Bon’s voice complemented by fellow female vocalists ooh-ing and aah-ing begind her, and baring resemblance to a songstress of this era—Eleanor Friedberger of the Fiery Furnaces. The record continues on this simple, straightforward path until “Greta,” a slow-paced experiment in psychedelia, disrupts the pattern. In this song, Le Bon adds reverb to her vocals, creating a fuzzy, hazy atmosphere urged on by disjointed instrumentation and unexpected trumpet featured outro.

From this point, the record delves into a more psychedelic/experimental territory (albeit the record’s single, “Fold The Cloth,” holds onto the playful pop structure of CYRK’s A-side), but it never becomes inaccessible. The album’s closing track(s), the two-part “Ploughing Out,” begins in a soft lullaby, and gradually grows into a fast-paced, punkish bellow. By the time the second half begins, we are left with Le Bon excitedly repeating, “We’ll be on the last boat out of here,” as the music digresses into a saxophone-fired, cacophonous jam session, making it clear that Le Bon is much more than just your typical singer/songwriter.