Album Review: Cat Power - Sun

Cat Power's new album Sun is a great individual achievement. Barring a couple of songs, which feature a handful of guest musicians, Chan Marshall made the entire thing all by herself. She wrote the songs, she played all the instruments, she produced it. It is the first time she has done it like this. It's a statement of authority and control over the record, and indeed over herself. Independence and taking charge of yourself are strong themes in the album. In Always On My Own she sings, “I want to live my way of living”; in Human Being she sings, “You got a right to be whatcha want and where you wanna be”; in Sun she sings, “I may be a lover but I'm in it to win”. The palette of sounds is plentiful, from piano to ethereal synthesisers; real drums to drum machines. It is well performed and sounds lush and crisp, a credit to Marshall's multitudinous talent as a musician.

Title track Sun is brooding and full of swagger, with Marshall portraying our sun as an almighty thing that can give “the answers to every question”. Ruin is a kick in the bum to those who tend to sook, urging us to get on with things instead of “bitching, complaining/while some people ain't got shit to eat”. Manhattan is a standout track, a romantic, head-bobbing, making-out-on-a-New-York-rooftop kind of tune. Nothin But Time is another highlight of the record. The 11-minute epic has a bit of David Bowie's Heroes about it, with two major chords played over and over on piano, a fluent drum beat and a baritone Iggy Pop joining in halfway to sing with Marshall, “You got nothin but time, and it's got nothin on you”. It is decidedly cool and uplifting. Sun is a captivating, powerful album from an artist who seems reborn, self-possessed and at the top of her game.