Neko Case

I've really cut back on my music purchases. Time was I would buy, on average, a CD a week or more. Now I can go months between purchases. Some of that is due to a more sensible fiscal outlook, but it's partly due to an inability to keep up with what is out there these days. Therefore, when I do buy music, it tends to be oldies, or bands that I am familiar with.

But lately I had been intrigued by Neko Case. I have the first two New Pornographers CDs. She is a vocalist for that band, but it's not really her band. So this week I bought her solo CD, The Fox Confessor Brings the Flood, as well as the New Pornographers third CD, Twin Cinema. I listened to the solo record first, and I will be listening many more times. Her voice and sound, which reminds me of Hope Sandoval and Mazzy Star, is transporting. She glides over notes in a dreamy fashion. I particularly like a song called Star Witness. Don't ask me what any of her songs are about, her lyrics are pretty inscrutable.

I got a first taste of Twin Cinema last night. It's a good record, not as good as the first one--Mass Romantic, but better than the second, Electric Version. It's loud and full of power pop, with a touch of gospel in there the way the vocals are layered. I'll need a few more listens to determine which songs are my favorites.

Neko is classified as alt-country, although I'm not sure what that means. Yes, there is a Patsy-Cline-ish quality to her voice, but the music itself doesn't seem country to me. She has played the Grand Ole Opry, but apparently has not been there since an incident when she took her shirt off during a concert. I guess Nashville wasn't quite ready for that.