Neko Case
Blacklisted

THE REVIEW

The preamble could be her sensitivity in reinterpreting "The Boatman’s Call", right after being on tour in 1998 with Cave and the Bad Seeds.

But her country is not so sublimated, the blues not so ruthless.

"Boatman’s" is more essential, the compositions entrusted to the piano. Case surrounded by Howe Gelb, Joey Burns, and John Convertino (that is, Giant Sand and Calexico) paints a work rich in pathos, nocturnal and mysterious, with strong tones and contrasts. Case's writing finally emerges as sinister, as much as wandering and visionary. Dry lyrics. A cautious impulsiveness against instinctive, captivating, and yet elegant music. Refined compositions, though sparse. At times meditative. Arranged by her.

Then there's her voice, so natural, bold, and poignant, capable of a strong song, in extension and height, as well as elegiac sweetness, velvety when it softens the serious tones and eases the tension.

It’s no coincidence, and it’s not inappropriate, that she measures herself here with an Aretha Franklin standard, "Runnin’ Out Of Fools", which simply stuns, sends shivers down the spine, and tears the soul apart.

One might say that power is not beauty, certainly, but Case does well to hold onto power; there are many beautiful voices in Pop Rock, but few have such a sensational range.

Alt-country. The country and western melodies, characteristic of the first two solo albums, are informed by folk, blues, and slightly by soul. However, the work, beyond the feral intensity, boasts a tangible formal harmony and cohesion as a whole.

An album of country folk and certain beauty, then. The country folk is modern and very personally re-elaborated, the beauty is edgy and universal.

It is probably the best starting point to venture into the work of the Virginia singer-songwriter, always seeking a renewed balance between roots inspiration and indie adherence.

The album was released in 2002 by Anti-Records.

It gave her some visibility. Perhaps not the desired one. Here are the facts: at the time, a little over thirty, Case won the title of "Sexiest Babe of Indie Rock," a survey conducted by a very down-to-earth entertainment media, surpassing Chan Marshall (alias Cat Power), Caithlin De Marrais of Rainer Maria, and all four Sahara Hotnights. However, she proved little inclined to explicit poses and becoming a "former Playboy pin-up girl," preferring diligent commitment to music.

Regarding the album's contents, we find deserts, plains, roads, highways, crossroads, escapes, bewilderment, soft clay ("to work on astride"), female pilots (“Planes were never built to fly”), rails and train passengers, stalkers, murderers, whores, night hours, starry skies, insomnia, loneliness, tears and rain, fiery red bells and blacklists, stinging velvet on skin, ivy wrapped tightly around, soaking and penetrating to the bones.

And a strong sense of mystery with which to complete one's destiny.

“Hidden wonders

Like clouds rising

From the sea”

Just a few passages.

There is the lively initial bluegrass of "Things That Scare Me”, the sweet and stinging “I Wish I Was The Moon” with the naive evidence of a Francoise Hardy, there is the intriguing country of “I Missed The Point” (Case has considerable love for Loretta Lynn) and the majestic honky-tonk of “Stinging Velvet”.

“When I am walking under the stars

I crave all the declining hours

All the lonely homes stand as monuments

To thieves”

Notable, seductive, and dramatic is the hypersensitive blues of “Pretty Girls”. It is worth diving into.

“Deep Red Bells” represents the state of the art: a sinister ballad, full of tension. A murder ballad, given the protagonist is the horrible Green River serial killer, Gary Ridgway. A rhythmic up and down that flows into a country-folk melody, a febrile delirium extinguished in a cascade of emotions. The baritone guitar of Brian Connelly (of Shadowy Men On a Shadowy Planet), outlines a murderous background of dark suspense à la 'Twin Peaks', as it does in the title track, the tune closest to Nick Cave.

Mary Margaret O’Hara, cult Canadian singer-songwriter (“Miss America” of 1988!), guest stars in the sinuous and tight “Ghost Wiring”, with her irregular and unpredictable counterpoint.

Deep Red Bells

Led you to this secluded place

His blazing threats twisted loose tongues

Red bells invite you to drive

A footprint on the driver's side

Looks a lot like engine oil

And tastes of what is poor and small

And of popsicles in summer

Must it always come to this?

Red bells ring this tragic hour

She lost sight of the overpass

Daylight won’t help her bear

When the foliage stains rise around your bones

Who had the time to fold the clothes

Before heading into the Valley of the Shadow?

Where does this petty world lay its cold stare?

Who was left to suffer long above you?

Your soul turns like a paper bag

Past vacant lots and early graves?

You like all others who lost their way

Murdered on the interstate

While red bells ring with a voice of thunder

Deep red bells, deep as what has been done to me