[Shaun]

In the second half of the last decade, Chan Marshall recast herself as a straight-up soul singer, if not a highly skilled interpreter of classic Memphis-style R&B. 2006's The Greatest was more successful than 2008's Jukebox (and its accompanying EP, 2009's Dark End of the Street), but on the whole, that period of her career now scans as something of a personal rejuvenation-- Marshall decamping in the birthplace of rock 'n' roll to recenter herself. "Ruin," the first single of Marshall's forthcoming LP Sun, furthers that case. Perhaps the brightest-sounding track of her career thus far, "Ruin" tumbles forth with a strong sense of momentum, based on a core rhythmic combination of piano and drums that propel a track taken with the idea of travel. "I've seen gypsies who made it all the way and kept going," Marshall sings as the song revs up, before rattling off a litany of places she's visited, like a globalized version of the pop country standard "I've Been Everywhere." Marshall's point is simple, and well-put for an artist with a keen sense of place: If you pay attention, your hometown often has the best ruins.

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