Originally posted on www.soundblab.com
American singer-songwriter Cat Power returns to the music scene with her ninth studio album, drawing on her blend of haunting ethereal vocals and minimalistic indie background beats, but it's a little hit and miss. By now most people know what to expect from Cat Power, she has been releasing music since the mid 90s after all, and for many big fans out there this album may be that little gem they've been waiting for. But as someone who isn't completely aware of the entire oeuvre of Cat Power, I can honestly say this album definitely isn't the best way to get introduced to her music. It's ok but it won't have you hooked and running out to buy her entire back-catalogue.
This album has been a long time coming, and has been in the works for the last five or six years, so you would have thought it would have been a little better, especially when the indie sound she is known for has become so mainstream. However, this album just makes her sound like a cheap and less feisty Florence Welch, which is sad considering she was making music before Florence was even in high school.
The songs themselves aren't so bad; there are some very good tracks here such as 'Manhattan', an upbeat, chirpy song which makes you want to sing and dance along despite her melancholic vocal. Then there's 'Peace and Love'. A very fast-paced, almost rocky song with a very catchy chant of "nah nah nah" and a good beat, it's definitely one of the best here. Elsewhere, 'Nothin' But Time' is a really upbeat, cheery track that lifts you right up. However, at almost 11 minutes, the song just gets a bit formulaic and you begin to lose interest in it.
The remainder of the songs are all quite boring; they all sound pretty much the same with their minimalistic beats and sad vocals which, to be fair, is her style, but she could have upped the ante a little bit considering she's been working on the album for so long. Songs such as 'Silent Machine' and 'Sun' almost go somewhere at the start, with the former sounding like a 70s throwback and the latter containing a bit of a dance-inspired opening, but that's where it stops as the remaining few minutes of each song fall flat and sound like all the other songs on the album.
The album is a concoction of a few hits, misses and almost-hits which just miss the mark and, whereas the raw and melancholic sound is true to her, the whole album just kind of falls flat on its face. Despite a few good songs, it's not something I'm going to be in a hurry to listen to again.
