Cat Power – You Are Free

February 2, 2003

Cat Power‘s newest release, You Are Free, is probably the best thing Chan Marshalls ever done. That’s big talk considering her oeuvre: five albums of perfect melancholy that feature one of the great voices of our time. Efforts to categorize her as Southern folk, goth-folk, or the heinously named Sadcore, fail miserably to account for her sound. Cat Power sounds more like moods than genre. Her music is the sullen cries of lives gone and echoing through deserted mountains and valleys… um… with a guitar.

While Im a big fan of her older work, I still find it difficult to listen to the albums straight through. They are unrelentingly dour and carry so much emotional weight that I find myself throwing my headphones off just to get a breather. I have no idea why Matador‘s press photo has Chan smiling so brilliantly, it’s about the last thing you’d expect from her music.

“You Are Free” still evokes the same emotions, but Chan achieves a better balance this time. The record feels sequenced for vinyl, as the front seven feels completely different than the back seven. For the first half, instead of consistent downbeat tempos of earlier work, theres a wider variety here, with a few (relatively) peppier numbers and better range of instrumentation. “I Don’t Blame You” is a plain piano ballad, but it has a bounce in its step and a gorgeous melody. “Free” has a drum track that feels like a drum machine, while “Good Woman” sports some ghostly backing vocals from a children’s choir and Eddie Vedder. The first half closes with “He War,” as close to rocking out as Chan’s ever gotten, with a full band including Dave Grohl on drums. The second half feels more like a characteristically Cat Power album. It’s sad and scary, incredibly spare in its sound and painful in its depth. “Maybe Not” and “Names” are the most beautifully sad things I’ve heard since Tom Waits’ teary “Georgia Lee. ” It closes with “Evolution,” another plaintive ballad, this time a duet with a deep, deep male voice that sounds a bit like Leonard Cohen, although I’m pretty sure it’s not him. The sequencing makes the record drag a bit, but it’s a fairly minor complaint because the songs themselves are so strong.

While there are upbeat pieces, this is not a party album. Its the most complete songwriting effort Chans had, and her vocal performance is on par with the phenomenal Covers Record. Shes still able to find resolve and strength from her fragile, raw voice. Its a heartbreaking, spellbinding record, and my favorite album of the year.

He War is available for download here.

Posted in From Blown Speakers