Cat Power has just released their tenth album Wanderer. The musician, Charlyn Marie Chan Marshall, returns after 6 years of absence.
Cat Power's music has the power to be timeless, due to the folk and ethereal side of its compositions. Is Wanderer made of the same formula?
A very personal album
For more than ten years, Cat Power has been reaching its audience with quite intimate songs. The minimalist side of the music often makes us think that Chan Marshall is almost singing for herself.With Wanderer, the folk singer invites us to travel and walk along a road, the time to tell us her stories.
The album opens with Wanderer, an introduction to aerial vocals and the video that gives desires for exploration.
Cat Power's songs sometimes sound like introspections. As in You Get, whose instrumentation is reminiscent of You Are Free (from the 2003 album of the same name). "And, no, there's nothin' like time, to teach you where you have been /And there is nothing like time, to give you things you can need"
Horizon has a special energy. The song sounds like a sunrise for breakfast in a diner. The addition of the vocoder sounds new to Cat Power, and it pairs very well with the other instruments. The lyrics of the song also sound very personal: "Mother, I know your face /Father, still hold your place /Sister, I'm around you /Remember me /Brother, I'm on my way /I'm visiting"
In Black, Cat Power returns to her roots: the singer is supported only by her guitar.
Cat Power stays true to itself and charts its course
Wanderer was not released on the Matador label, on which most of his albums were released. Indeed, the label had asked the artist to modify and rework his tracks to make them more suitable for commercial operation. Chan Marshall refused, so Wanderer was released via Domino Records. The story is told in an interview for the New York Times "I understood that I was a product," she said, "and I always thought I was a person. »
Following only his artistic vision and convictions, Cat Power recorded a duet with Lana Del Rey. Woman is a song that echoes her story, and more broadly the experiences of women in general: "If I had a dime for every time / Tell I'm not what you need…". Their two voices combine very well, in an old-fashioned pop/folk song.
Cat Power also recorded a cover of Rihanna's Stay. The piece is self-sufficient and the emotion is very present. In the end, Cat Power goes its way: it is free to go wherever it wants.
Rating: 8/10
Chan Marshall's music doesn't change. The compositions, arrangements and overall atmosphere of the songs have been much the same in recent years. However, even though Cat Power's albums are all quite similar, Wanderer has a little something different. A certain maturity and above all, a call for freedom.
