Alternative
Indie megastar Chan Marshall, better known as Cat Power, has a new philosophy that goes something like this: When life gives you lemons, you kick life’s ass and make a damn good album about it.
Sun is Cat Power’s ninth release, her first album in four years and her first studio album composed of entirely original works since 2006’s The Greatest.
Unlike her previous efforts, in which she comfortably rests on the laurels of her gloomy songsmith identity, Marshall commands both the listener’s attention and respect with Sun.
The album’s songs depict a narrative of newfound confidence and emotional control after a hasty breakup with “Avatar” actor Giovanni Ribisi.
Sun still feels like her, mostly because it is her. Marshall played every instrument and mastered every production element herself.
Even when the digital drums and computer beeps sometimes feel accidentally unfinished, these can be forgiven in light of the album’s overall sheer likability.
The record as a whole parallels fellow female artists such as Lykke Li, Feist and even strong female rocker Alanis Morissette, Still, Marshall dominates her latest style with much greater results than any of her contemporaries.
Her love of synthesizers is evident in the dark, experimental title track, “Sun,” and the processed alienesque blips of “Real Life.”
Sun’s only fault is that it is cleanly dissected into two genres — early ‘90s feminist singer-songwriter and modern psychedelic glo-fi.
The resulting dichotomy feels forced and uneven at times, resulting in the occasional lack of cohesion from track to track.
But although the record lacks some musical direction, a few songs, such as “3, 6, 9” pack a mean lyrical punch with intense, brutal lines like, “You got a right to have that hand on your arm/but the moment you hit it you’re on your own.”
It’s this refreshing combination of formidable lyrics and her growth and blossoming in personal confidence that has resulted in Cat Power’s overall innovation as an artist, placing Sun among the best records of 2012 so far.
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