Furnace Room Lullaby

Performer: Neko Case
Artist: Evan Johns; Ron Sexsmith; Kelly Hogan; Travis Good
Producer: Neko Case; Darryl Neudorf
Distributor: Alternative Dis. Alliance

Notes: Neko Case & Her Boyfriends includes: Neko Case (vocals, tambourine); Ron Sexsmith (vocals, acoustic guitar); Travis Good (electric, tenor, baritone, & 8-string guitars, mandolin, fiddle); Evan Johns (electric & steel guitars); Brian Connelly (electric & baritone guitars); Don Kerr (tenor guitar, cello, drums); Joel Trueblood (drums); Kelly Hogan (background vocals). Principally recorded at Miller Block, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada in January 1999 & March 1999. Neko Case: Neko Case (vocals, tambourine, background vocals); Ron Sexsmith (vocals, acoustic guitar); Evan Johns (guitar, electric guitar, steel guitar); Dallas Good (guitar); Travis Good (acoustic guitar, electric guitar, tenor guitar, baritone guitar, mandolin, fiddle, upright bass); Darryl Neudorf (acoustic guitar); John Ramberg (electric guitar, baritone guitar, background vocals); Brian Connelly (electric guitar, baritone guitar); Kevin Kane (12-string guitar); Bob Egan (lap steel guitar, pedal steel guitar, National guitar); Don Kerr (tenor guitar, cello, drums); Linda McRae (accordion); Ford Pier (piano, organ); Scott Betts, Henri Sangalang (bass guitar); Joel Trueblood (drums); Kelly Hogan (sound effects, background vocals); Mike Geier, Carl Newman (background vocals). Personnel: Neko Case & Her Boyfriends (vocals). Neko Case is a Canada-based country singer who got her start (as a drummer) in music in the rock band Maow. But she'd always wanted to pursue her love of country music--and went after it with a vengeance. Case was not weaned on pop/mainstream country: her voice has the back-country soul of Loretta Lynn (Patty Loveless is a good comparison, too). Her band is in-line with her voice: tight and crisp but with no Nashville gloss or pop-polish, featuring a lean, walloping honky-tonk twang right out of the '60s Buck Owens sound. Though her style is traditional, Case lyrically takes no prisoners--the assertive "Mood to Burn Bridges" tells busy-bodies where to get off, and the smoldering "Twist the Knife" vents--with elegance--her rage at a former lover. "Thrice All American" is a chillingly catchy anthem to/about Takoma, Washington. Those seeking a modern take on roots-oriented country sung by a classic voice, seek out Neko Case. Neko Case is a Canada-based country singer who got her start (as a drummer) in music in the rock band Maow. But she'd always wanted to pursue her love of country music--and went after it with a vengeance. Case was not weaned on pop/mainstream country: her voice has the back-country soul of Loretta Lynn (Patty Loveless is a good comparison, too). Her band is in-line with her voice: tight and crisp but with no Nashville gloss or pop-polish, featuring a lean, walloping honky-tonk twang right out of the '60s Buck Owens sound. Though her style is traditional, Case lyrically takes no prisoners--the assertive "Mood to Burn Bridges" tells busy-bodies where to get off, and the smoldering "Twist the Knife" vents--with elegance--her rage at a former lover. "Thrice All American" is a chillingly catchy anthem to/about Takoma, Washington. Those seeking a modern take on roots-oriented country sung by a classic voice, seek out Neko Case.

Q (6/00, p.103) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...This veers from what sounds like Brenda Lee or Patsy Cline outtakes to more inventive tunes such as 'Porchlight' where her eerie, overdubbed falsetto choruses alternate with a standard country verse..." CMJ (2/21/00, p.5) - "...[her] talent is so huge that it pops her out of the alt-country pigeonhole; she's an equal-opportunity threat to all comers, whatever their genre." Mojo (Publisher) (5/00, p.105) - "...A mesmerizing and haunting record....Showing how uncomfortable and edgy country music can be..." NME (Magazine) (4/22/00, p.40) - 7 out of 10 - "...A great stroke of post-alt-country near-genius....100% all-croonin' an' a-strummin' Tammy Wynette-plays-the-Grand-Olde-Opry waxwork of suffering and soul-bearing becomes a joy to behold..."

Armed with one of the most lush and disarming voices in pop music, Neko Case brought the DIY approach of her punk past to bear on the country singer-songwriter tradition. Releasing her first album in 1997 under the moniker Neko Case & Her Boyfriends, Case has proven herself to be both an adventurous interpreter (with unlikely renditions of Queen and Scott Walker songs) as well as a skilled songwriter. By faithfully covering standards by Loretta Lynn and Ernest Tubb, Case declared her allegiance to country's proud heritage, but collaborations with the likes of Giant Sand and indie-popsters The New Pornographers point to a restless creative spirit.

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