Cat Power Releases "Ruins" Single

"Is it rolling, Bob?"

Dinosaur Jr. and Fucked Up gigs approaching, Morrissey announcing he’s playing the same spot Buddy Holly sang his last song, a brilliant new Spiritualized album, man, this is a great time to be alive.

And the icing on the cake is the announcement of a new Cat Power album, with the prerequisite teaser track/stream to get you all hot ‘n bothered found here.

To be honest, I was already hot ‘n bothered when I saw the artwork, featuring a Chan with short hair. It removes about ten years off her, and briefly hinted at the possibility that she would revert to her unpredictable ways, those years when any sudden movement spelled danger.

But a spin of “Ruins,” that aforementioned snigglet of what’s to come, quickly demonstrates that Cat Power is continuing down a path of accessibility and mainstream acceptance, while giving long time fans like myself just enough bizarre to make us yell “You go girl!”

Because I think it’d be a hoot to hear this thing on whenever kids congregate for popular music these days, particularly the part when she begins rattling off all the places she’s been to during the support tour for The Greatest.

And every single place she’s been to has been fucked in one way or another, culiminating in one large clusterfuck of destruction that’s slowly eating away at our planet.

“What are we doin’?” she asks during the chorus. “We’re sittin’ on a ruin” is the honest answer. So hell yeah, go on and preach that shit, sister Chan.

I gave it three immediate spins-one right after the other-and can clearly hear how this thing began, its origins clearly high the in the mix. But when the overdub chorus finds Chan singing harmony with herself, it’s pretty clear that she’s using her full capacities.

I smiled when she began mouthing the drum beats in the middle of the track, first high hat and then bass drum, a sneaky moment that’s lost on most casual listeners. So yeah, the weirdness is there. You just gotta listen for it.