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Live Review: LISTEN: Cat Power 'Ruin'

22 June 2012 | 4:30 pm | Hannah Story

Cat Power is well-travelled in angst and despair. She's beautiful and forty and we love love love her new song.

Our favourite distressed yet lovely lady Chan Marshall AKA CAT POWER is working on a new album, Sun. Finally. It’s been six years since her last original LP, The Greatest. Six years too long. Over the course of a twenty-year career, full of despondency, peppered with angst, and salted with her powerhouse vocals, Cat Power has gained many lovers, and sure, a few haters. But those people just don’t appreciate the kind of tell-it-like-it-is lyrical genius that comes to this woman- who by the way totally gets me when I’m feeling morose today, okay? (There ain’t no party like a desperate fan girl party.)

Our first taste of the album is ‘Ruin.’ It’s some real polished piano bliss, entirely removed from her years dwelling in indie lo-fi awesome. Luckily we still have her vocals and they remain soulful. Raw. Quintessentially Cat Power. It’s the edge to her voice that makes it interesting, that makes it worth spending a couple hours lying on the your lounge room floor letting her tunes course through you.  And yeah maybe you should light some candles too? Add to the atmosphere.

The last time I was drunk I listened to ‘Colours and the Kids’ from 1998’s Moon Pix and declared it the best song in the world. Sober me thinks maybe ‘Ruin’ and it’s catchy pop despair might be a worthy contender. I also think that spray painting stuff in silver like Marshall does looks real fun. She's so badass.

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Sun is set for release August 31.

Words by Hannah Story.