Neko Case
Biography
Alternative country singer/songwriter Neko Case won a steadily growing cult audience for her smoky, sophisticated vocals and the downcast beauty of her music. Born in Alexandria, VA, Case moved around often as a child, spending the largest part of her youth in Tacoma, WA. She left her parents at age 15, and three years later she started playing drums for several bands around the Northwest's punk rock scene. Case moved to Vancouver in 1994 to enter art school, and simultaneously joined the punk group Maow, which released a record on the Mint label. She also played with roots rockers the Weasles and eventually formed her own backing band, the Boyfriends, which initially featured alumni of the Softies, Zumpano, and Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet.
Case released her solo debut, The Virginian, in 1997, delving wholeheartedly into traditional country via a mix of covers and originals. She went on to perform with Carolyn Mark in the old-timey side project the Corn Sisters and began a long-running affiliation with the Vancouver indie supergroup the New Pornographers. Case completed her studies in 1998, and with her student visa expired, she returned to Washington and began work on her second solo album. The lovely, melancholy Furnace Room Lullaby was released on Bloodshot Records in 2000 and won high praise for its dark compositions, all of which were written or co-written by Case.
Case subsequently relocated to Chicago, home of a thriving alt-country scene, and released the home-recorded Canadian Amp EP in 2001. Its moody, late-night ambience carried over to 2002's Blacklisted, a darker yet more eclectic affair. Blacklisted garnered Case her strongest reviews yet, making many year-end critics' polls and landing her a tour slot opening for Nick Cave. In 2004, Case signed with Anti Records in the United States and released a live album, The Tigers Have Spoken, which was recorded during several dates with Canadian surf-country band the Sadies. She then returned to the studio to work on another studio album, a move that required her to take a break from the New Pornographers (which whom she had recorded and intermittently toured since the band's inception).
Fox Confessor Brings the Flood followed in 2006 and fared modestly well on the Billboard charts, peaking at number 54 and introducing a wider audience to Case's dark, country-noir style. The concert recording Live from Austin, TX was released one year later, capturing a 2003 performance for Austin City Limits, and Case contributed vocals to the New Pornographers' Challengers before returning to her adopted hometown of Tucson, AZ. Recording sessions for a new album took place in that home environment, as well as Brooklyn, Toronto, and Case's newly purchased farm in Vermont (where songs were tracked in a barn). The resulting album, Middle Cyclone, was released several months later in March 2009. ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide
Selected Discography

Middle Cyclone
2009

Live From Austin, TX
2007

Fox Confessor Brings The Flood
2006

The Tigers Have Spoken
2004

Blacklisted
2002

Furnace Room Lullaby
2000
Sounds like a cross between Tanya Tucker & Patsy Cline but not near as good. I'd give it a 5 on a scale of 1 to 10. Not impressed. Of course I am a country music bigot.
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neko is a breath of brilliant sweaty sultry hot air, her voice seeps itself into my bones, muscles and soul. I can't hep but sing along.
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God I love her. A true artist. There is such a beautiful sad longingness to her voice and lyrics which inturn makes her edgey, sensual, and mysterious all at once.
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a wonderful artisit. very pwoerful vocals and she has this 'lost in time' type aura about her. I love it. Did I mention that she is hot. :)
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I know it's an old cliche, but it certainly fits: she could sing the White Pages and it'd be worth the price of admission. Her voice, her singing style, the phrasing of her lyrics - simply amazing. And I love the range of styles she has covered during her career. Margo Timmins of the Cowboy Junkies will always be my favorite singer, but Neko Case is a very close second.
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Deep Red Bells will go down as one of the great American songs, something that will be played like "Long Black Veil"...spoo k y , powerful, haunting. "It looks a lot like engine oil, and tastes like being poor and small, and popsicles, in summer". Goosebump inducing, and if you've never seen her live, don't make the mistake of missing her next time she comes around.
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I can ensure you that Neko Case is worth exploring if you don't know her music. It is also worth reading about her a bit. She has some 'religious' songs and it helps knowing her reasons and thinking about adding such material to her albums. Also, I saw her in concert (a small joint in Indianapolis ) and people were actually crying her voice is so powerful. Finally, she is all about the music which somehow translates well both in person and on her albums.
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I was visiting Seattle this year and saw Neko in concert at Bombershoots . I truly felt in love with her music, voice, lyrics and I'm thrilled to see her music on Pandora! Thanks.
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I've had these dreams for years about Emilou Harris, but now they're about Neko Case (and sometimes the Sadies).
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I've traveled far and wide across this great country stalking, err, I mean listening to, Neko Case -- ever since first hearing the first few seconds of the first track on furnace room lullaby in 2000. Mostly a voice to start out but she's worked hard to become a great songwriter now, too
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Neko is amazing. The pictures she paints with her lyrics are mesmerizing and captivating. Not to mention she is a drop dead fox.
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I adore Neko, and this bio should definitely mention her work with the New Pornographer s !
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Neko is one of the best vocals on the circuit!!
She is at the top of the pack!! |
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Utterly transfixing. She and Nick Cave seem to be able to tap into something old and mostly forgotten by the over civilized human, something pre-literal, pre-verbal. A harmonic of fear. Cormac McCarthy's novels also hit this note.
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I love Neko and particularly her work with the New Pornographer s which is SO different from her solo work - - - they are awesome live!
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listening to Hex I am getting the goosebumps. falling under Neko's spell?
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One of the few artists whose live performances far exceed their studio work... she is amazing.
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I am listening to "The Needle has Landed" on Fox Confessor. What a great song!
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