You Are Free

Some will come to Cat Power’s fifth album because of heavyweight guest stars like Eddie Vedder and Dave Grohl. That’s cool. They’ll come back because Chan Marshall, the quirky singer-songwriter who pens eerie folk rock as Cat Power, is the real deal. On the twangy “Good Woman,” a mournful electric guitar jousts with a violin as Vedder’s trademark moan backs Marshall’s own chilling warble. Elsewhere, power chords rough up “Free,” and a spare piano creeps through the stunning “Evolution.” It seems everything this Cat drags in is worth keeping.