The Greatest / Hate

I know that this is not really much of anything to review seeing as its just a seven inch single but I just thought it was worth writing about here in the reviews section because it's just so good. For those of you who are not familiar with Cat Power and you are a fan of powerful female singer songwriters then do yourself a favor and check out some of her music. I would suggest checking out her last full length on matador called You Are Free. I personally really dont like a few of the songs on that album that try to be more electric and rocking because I really don't think that she does that well at all. The majority of the music on that album is simply amazing and the best tracks are those which she takes a more simple approach to the production side of things and lets her powerful song writing really stand out and that is exactly what she does here on The Greatest / Hate.

The title track is a gorgeous new song that seems to be showing her progression as a musician. Although similar to her last full length you can really feel her music maturing. It has this haunting, slow swing to the song which causes her voice to tread oh so lightly over the rest of the instruments leaving you listening a little harder to catch what she is saying in the song. Maybe I'm being to specific here but in a way, it kind of takes away from the lyrics but gets leveled out by the the way it graces the rest of the instruments in the song.

The b-side here called Hate is a tighter song and that is simply due to the fact that it's just her and her guitar. Well, that and a dusting of reverb for mood. I love this song! It is the kind of track that all the indie kids that follow her music would call her best work because any self respecting singer songwriter needs to stick with his or her roots right? Kidding here. I really do enjoy the song though, it's always nice to hear a musician be able to hold up well with a full band but still be able to sit down with a guitar and stop everyone in the room with her mind controlling confidant singing that leaves you feeling all warm and fuzzy inside.

So heres hoping that her upcoming full length featuring this single will hold up to my, and every other cat power fan's expectations. "We would all be free"

iTunes Link: