Cat Power - You Are Free

"You Are Free" — Cat Power

I admit right off the top, this is the first full Cat Power album I've listened to. I know I've heard some of Chan Marshall's tunes on some Matador compilations, but nothing really stuck with me, in part because her stuff is quiet and sparse.

There is an interesting effect of listening to an album via MP3 (from the fine folX0R at emusic.com Cat Power - You Are Free). Divorced from the package and audio carrier, you really have to listen to music (yes, I know, lossy compression, yadda, yadda; but if I really like it I go out and spend the bucks on the CD) which is sort of like the stoner routine: have you ever really looked at your hand, man?

Just as in a colour wheel, or harmonic scales, there are complimentary elements, what "You Are Free" reminds me of is the complement to Sleater-Kinney. Both feature spare instrumentation, a distinctly female voice, but where Sleater-Kinney arrive from the direction of rock, Cat Power takes the folk way. In Chan Marshall's vocals, you can hear Sandy Denny. Where Sleater-Kinney have the howl of anger, Cat Power has the comfort of misery, and there is something reassuring knowing somebody else is more miserable than you.

You can hear a Quicktime stream of the album at the mini-site, though it is built in Flash, so you need the latest and greatest.

Article Author: Jim Carruthers

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