Neko Case

First off I must say I'm still not 100% convinced that Neko Case is human. You simply have to be suspicious of so much talent and beauty under one roof. In typical Siren fashion, the first thing that gets your attention is her (?) voice calling to you through a veil of luscious reverb. Human women just don't sing like this anymore. You must investigate.

So you buy a CD and listen while examining the photos, artwork, liner notes and before you know it WHAM, you're ruined. Months have gone by in a blur and you catch yourself habitually buying Sadies CDs and scouring the internet like a pig for back issues of Kutie Magazine.

If Neko wished, I believe she along with Buddy Miller could usher in a new Golden Age of country music and I'd be very happy. Her voice is an amazing instrument, thoroughly steeped in that tradition but with the release of her latest CD Fox Confessor Brings The Flood, she obviously has something else in mind. Take for instance Hold On Hold On. "...I leave the party at three a.m...Alone, thank God. With a valium from the bride..It's the devil I love..And that's as funny as real love..And that's as real as true love...Dire stuff, but she sings it like she's the happiest girl in the whole USA.

Backed by friends from Calexico, and a host of assorted twangy Canadians, Neko has produced a dreamy album full of evocative, genre defying songs. First listen is like watching a Scandinavian art film with no subtitles. Beautiful, snowbound images bombard your senses but what does it all mean?

I'll tell you what it all means. "Surrender Earthlings"