Critiques CD: Cat Power | Sun

It’s hard not to think highly of everything Chan Marshall creates, given her well-deserved indie rock legend status. But for her first original release in 6 years – 2008’s Jukebox was largely covers, albeit some of her most charming work to date – she’s made some questionable stylistic choices; Sun’s penchant for auto-tuned vocals and synth sounds is unflattering for her undeniably bluesy vocals. It doesn’t quite fit, but still, Marshall’s embracing of the emblems of contemporary pop is an interesting experiment as she’s always leaned toward acoustic, American folksy-rock, and went full-out blues the last time we heard from her. The counterintuitive aesthetic shift is best executed in first single “Ruin”, lyrically straight-forward but thoughtful; and “Always On My Own”, which savors strongly of classic Cat Power but with more impressive production.