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Cat Power: "It took years to feel like I was allowed to take up space”

Cat Power

Cat Power talks Moon Pix, Wanderer, and working with Lana Del Rey

Chan Marshall, the singular force behind Cat Power, speaks with the calm conviction of someone who has fought the long war and lived to tell the tale. With her latest record, Wanderer, Marshall returns to a stripped-down sound that recalls the haunting minimalism of 1998’s Moon Pix. But this isn’t nostalgia. It’s more like a reckoning—a raw confrontation with her past, her identity, and her own survival.

“Wanderer isn’t about wandering the earth,” she tells me, her tone steady but reflective. “It’s about the mind, about navigating the spaces between who we’ve been, who we are, and where we want to go.” It’s an apt metaphor for someone who’s been through hell and back, not just in the industry but in life. From being misdiagnosed for years to confronting the pressures of a record label demanding “hits,” Marshall’s journey has been anything but linear.

That fight for selfhood, for the ability to simply exist on her own terms, is at the heart of Wanderer. The record’s lead single, “Woman,” is a defiant anthem of survival and strength. With guest vocals from Lana Del Rey, it feels like a cross-generational call to arms for women everywhere. “At first, I didn’t understand why I wasn’t ready to put it on the record,” Marshall says. “But after touring with Lana and talking about our lives—our fathers, boyfriends, the men in this industry—I realized it needed her voice too. Together, the song could become something much bigger than just my story.”

Much of Wanderer is imbued with this sense of collective memory and healing. “Black,” one of the album’s most devastating tracks, takes the perspective of a ghost caught in the cyclical horrors of heroin addiction. “I’ve lost so many friends to heroin,” she says quietly. “This song came from a place of anger I’d never felt before. One of my friends survived an overdose, and instead of relief, I was furious. It was the first time I truly felt the weight of it all.”

What’s remarkable about Wanderer is how seamlessly it ties Marshall’s past and present. Recorded while raising her young son, the album finds her reclaiming the quiet intensity of her early work. The similarities to Moon Pix aren’t lost on her. “That record was the first time I realized I had fans who saw me, who understood what it meant to feel disconnected from the world,” she says. “But back then, I didn’t feel like I belonged. I wasn’t part of the indie rock scene. I was stealing food to survive. It took years to feel like I was allowed to take up space.”

And now? Marshall is unapologetic in taking up all the space she needs. The cover of Wanderer features her son, a guitar slung over his back—a tender nod to the two anchors in her life. “That’s my world,” she says simply. But don’t mistake this groundedness for complacency. Marshall is still keenly aware of the fight ahead, both personally and socially. “We’ve got a criminal running this country,” she says, her voice sharp with resolve. “We need alliances. We need community. We need to remind each other that we have the power to move forward, even when everything feels broken.”

Marshall’s performance of Moon Pix at its 20th anniversary celebration in Australia marked a full-circle moment. “I stood there in a dress,” she says, still sounding a little surprised at herself. “For so long, I felt like I had to reject femininity to survive. But in that moment, I realized I was finally okay with myself—with who I’ve been and who I’ve become.”

This balance between vulnerability and defiance has always defined Cat Power’s music, but with Wanderer, it feels sharper, more distilled. As the conversation winds down, Marshall reflects on the simplicity at the heart of her songwriting. “It’s always been three chords and the truth,” she says. “There’s something so primal about that. We’re complicated creatures, but at our core, we’re just trying to connect.”

And connect she does. Whether she’s singing about personal pain, societal injustice, or the quiet beauty of resilience, Cat Power reminds us that the journey is never linear, but it’s always worth taking.

Listen to the interview above and then check out the videos below.

Kyle is the WFPK Program Director. Email Kyle at kmeredith@lpm.org

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