All entries for October 2006

Neko Case

Writing about web page http://www.nekocase.com

Walking around Auckland’s premiere music store, Real Groovy, and searching for some ‘sweet as’ deals I came upon a strange realisation. It was that there were a disturbingly large number of bands I recognised in the ‘Country’ section. I’ll probably go into the selection of what I deem to be the cream of the (what people I guess tend to call) alt.country crop but for now I’m going to highlight my current favourite, Neko Case.

The introduction to her is probably a familiar one for any indiephile out there, but there’s no harm in mentioning it again. Neko is often more known for her role as one of the lead singers for Canadian quasi-collective, The New Pornographers. It was with the song, and album, Mass Romantic that led me to follow up the fantastic voice behind this quirky pop song.

And a fantastic voice it is too, because all the way through her latest album, Fox Confessor Brings The Flood, it manages just fine on it’s own on the semi-a-cappella A Widow’s Toast and the intro to John Saw That Number while being so brilliantly tender and powerful in songs such as Star Witness and Hold On, Hold On.

It’s not only the vocals that shine through but the song structures and narratives are anything but conventional, yet never losing the thread or your attention throughout. It’s a far cry from her work with the Pornographers, yet one thing is definitely consistent, the quality. I’ve included my favourites here for you to trial, but buy the album, seriously, even it does mean being seen in the country aisle…

Neko Case is also touring the UK in November (including the Glee Club in Brum, a very nice venue indeed) so try and catch her live at the following dates:

11/01/06 – Koko – London, ENG
11/02/06 – Academy – Bristol, Eng.
11/05/06 – Glee Club – Birmingham, Eng.
11/06/06 – Academy 3 – Manchester, Eng.
11/07/06 – Academy 2 – Newcastle, Eng.
11/08/06 – Oran Mor – Glasgow, Scotland
11/09/06 – Black Box – Dublin, Ire.
11/10/06 – Crawdaddy – Dublin, Ire.
11/11/06 – Roisin Dubh – Galway, Ire.
11/12/06 – Savoy – Cork, Ire.

If you can’t manage that, then NPR has a whole live set in MP3 format for you to download from this page here, aren’t they kind?

Fox Confessor Brings The Flood (2006)
Neko Case – Star Witness MP3 Expired
Neko Case – That Teenage Feeling MP3 Expired
Neko Case – The Needle Has Landed MP3 Expired

[buy from Amazon]

: 04 Oct 2006 07:03 |  Tags: Alt Country Music Neko Case |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem