Ruin–Cat Power

It’s been a while since I’ve been excited by Chan Marshall’s work. 2006’s album The Greatest wasn’t exactly, err, the best original music she’s produced, and since then she’s continued this country and soul binge with a covers album that, while likely garnering her industry respect, isn’t quite where my tastes lie. Even 2003’s You Are Free, while retaining the old ‘Cat Power’ style, couldn’t quite live up to the haunting beauty of her previous body of work. It seemed that Cat Power was perhaps an indie phenomenon relegated to 90s relevance.

In early August, a new decade will bring a new original Cat Power album, Sun. From the early single, Ruin, I am glad to hear that maybe some of the old charm is back. The salsa-esque piano sets the tone and Chan’s vocals do the rest, creating a simple and effective song that brightens the mood with every listen. While the emotion on the album remains to be seen, history has shown Cat Power to use a poppy single to lure attention to a more diverse collection so it’s hard to say what is in store for us in August. Needless to say, I’m actually intrigued this go around and will report back with the reveal.

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