Wed. Oct. 24

Cat Power – the nom de rock of indie goddess Chan Marshall – is infamous for disjointed shows, suffering breakdowns on stage, so for a time there she was like a '90s version of Johnny Thunders, drawing an audience loving the music but (secretly) waiting for the crash. So her rep was hip chick/talented but damaged. Marshall more or less disappeared from the music world, and just released “Sun,” her first album of new material in six years. Now 40, Marshall has shifted gears from the R&B/soul-infused sound of “The Greatest,” to say nothing of the edgy, shambolic guitar rock of her ‘90s discs. “Sun” shows Marshall to be in an expansive, creative zone. There’s a sense of struggle and strife – Marshall went through a major boyfriend breakup and it shows - but musically, there’s more synths, more of a pop sensibility, and, also, a real sweep. The elegiac, graceful “Nothing But Time,” clocking in at nearly 11 minutes, sounds like a plaintive, modern take-off from David Bowie’s “’Heroes’”: ”“You want to live/I want to live /You ain’t got nothing else but time/And they ain’t got nothing on you/Your world is just beginning.” She's at House of Blues Wed. Oct. 24.

Tix: $45-$34

15 Lansdowne St., 617-393-BLUE www.houseofblues.com