It’s easy to forget about Cat Power. Charlyn (Chan) Marie Marshall hasn’t released an album since 2008’s Jukebox, and an album of original songs since 2006’s The Greatest. You know what the top-selling album of 2006 was? The High School Musical soundtrack. Musically speaking, things change a lot over a six-year span, and with every Amy Winehouse, Phoenix, and Fleet Foxes that came along, Cat Power became more of a distant memory, the kind of artist you don’t think about unless you’re flipping through your iTunes.
That’s why I’m so happy that Marshall will FINALLY release a new album, Sun (Matador), on September 4, and that her first new single in forever, “Ruin,” sounds damn good. Two of the reasons why there was such a long break between albums was because she had a nervous breakdown after The Greatest came out; she also split up with her boyfriend, actor Giovanni Ribisi. But on “Ruin,” there’s an exuberant joyfulness that doesn’t appear in her previous work. Instead of slow-burning, country-tinged soul, “Ruin” is breezy and – dare I say it – kind of fun. But her smoky voice remains as alluring as ever. Listen below.
Welcome back, Cat.
