Does anyone else feel overwhelmed sometimes when you think about the music you won’t ever even know exists, the stuff you won’t get around to listening to? I get hit by that thought a lot, and it happens sometimes when I listen to an artist from, say, the 90s or early 2000s, and they end up in my daily rotation. It’s like, who else is out there?? It’s sort of like fomo but maybe feels more bewildering.
This happened recently with the artist Cat Power. I can’t remember where I first read her name, and still very, very new to her work, but loving her songwriting and singing style. I’ve been listening to two of her albums- What Would the Community Think (an amazing name) and You Are Free.
You Are Free has me totally captivated, as well at it being something to attempt to sing along to. The (seeming) pared down, mostly acoustic accompaniment really allows her soft vocals to shine. The thing about the soft, sometimes meandering vocals is the sense that you’re sort of stumbling upon her singing to herself- and that’s not to downplay the recording of the record itself- she just has this thing of not sounding overworked, or over-planned. It’s reminding me now of another singer-songwriter I love, Thao Nguyen. It’s a very natural, maybe un-altered sound, and it’s haunting. The songs Werewolf and Babydoll really get at the haunting sound, with the melody and instruments leaving things a little unsettled. Half of You is possibly my favorite of the album, sonically and lyrically.
I’m anxious to hear her other records, and want to encourage anyone who hasn’t listened before to give her stuff a listen.