(Domino)
Chan Marshall’s third outing deconstructing the songs of others, from Nick Cave and Frank Ocean to Lana Del Rey and the Pogues, is her best yet
Dancing, ceremony, aural wallpaper: the uses of music are legion. Often, though, succour is key, a kind of aural hug you could elevate to the 10th power when it comes to cover versions.
It would be limiting to cast Cat Power’s three albums of other people’s songs as mere public acts of self-soothing – Georgia-born, New York-seasoned, Miami-dwelling Chan Marshall, three decades in the game, is far too versatile and canny a musician for that. She has eight albums of her own soft-touch incantation under her belt, and a particular aesthetic all her own.