Album: Cat Power, Sun (Matador)

On her belated follow-up to 2006's The Greatest, Chan "Cat Power" Marshall has changed direction yet again, abandoning her soul charm for something much less appealing.

Part of the problem is her decision to play virtually everything herself save for a few parts on the standout song "Ruin"; although she tries to keep things sleek, the overdubbing process turns tracks like "Nothin' But Time" into trudges. But her natural grace shines through on "3, 6, 9", a skipping-song chant, and "Ruin", a Latin disco-pop piano groove wryly observing Westerners' complaints, despite their lives of plenty.

Download: Ruin; 3, 6, 9; Real Life