Chan Marshall (better known as Cat Power, left), whose dreamy lullaby ‘Sea of Love’ provided the musical backdrop to the box office hit Juno, stands discernible amongst the crowd of introspective female soloists of today. Her newest tracks, taken from her latest EP album Dark End of the Street, are by nature short and sweet, however their appeal lies not in their length but in their beautifully intelligent lyrics. The melancholy beneath each line manifests itself on a gray rainy day, her smoky soulful voice accompanying the bluesy background music. A particularly glorious track is her cover of Otis Redding’s ‘I’ve Been Loving You Too Long (To Stop Now).’ With her husky notes complementing the beautiful confessional lyrics, her sounds are almost reminiscent of Ray LaMontagne.

Cat’s colleagues, Rachael Yamagata, Adele, Missy Higgins, and Meiko are contemporary female soloists who eloquently pay homage to their heartbreaks, plights, and triumphs for all to hear and empathize with. They are each affecting and talented in their own right, but for the sake of understanding, they all require greater depth than Britney Spears’ Circus asks for.

These are the modern day Carole Kings and Joni Mitchells. However, instead of ‘I wish I had a river I could skate away on,’ we have ‘Across the evening sky all the birds are leaving, but how can they know it’s time to go? Before the winter fire I will be dreaming, I have no thoughts of time,’ as Cat Power sings in ‘Who Knows Where the Time Goes.’

And there is something to be said for music that asks listeners to decipher the lyrics and attempt to grasp the true emotionality of their significance. Part of the beauty of such music is its relevance to personal situations, whether they be past or present. However, as a social footnote, the emergence of such intellectually focussed artists marks a significant turning point in consumers’ musical tastes generally. As the appeal of superficiality wanes, the popularity of musical depth appears to be gradually increasing–a welcomed trend indeed.

So as I sit back to the sounds of Cat Power and savour a good cup of coffee, I allow myself to float away on my own cloud of introspection with her gravelly tones and thought provoking words. Why not try it too? The inner journey will certainly be worth it.

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