Furnace Room Lullaby [Vinyl]

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.