Neko Case – Furnace
Room Lullabye
Mint/Bloodshot, 2000
Acquired: Kings Road Merch Mail Order, New, 2013
Price: $20
Furnace Room Lullabye
isn’t my favorite Neko Case album, but it is definitely the one I’ve heard the
most. It’s my wife’s favorite album, and we listen to it ALL THE TIME. At home,
on trips, anytime the album is at hand, Jenny is apt to put it on and sing
along. This is actually her album, anyway. I got it for her for our wedding
anniversary (because Paper Anniversary is too easy if you work at a bookstore
and I prefer a Vinyl Anniversary instead). My favorite album of Neko’s is Fox Confessor Brings the Flood (her new
one, The Worse Things Get, The Harder IFight, The Harder I Fight, The More I Love You, is creeping up the ranks
and may soon overtake Fox Confessor),
and I think she is one of those artists who gets better album after album. Over
the years she has matured from punk to alt-country chanteuse to maybe the most
beloved and idolized female singer of this era. Her songwriting is better than
just about anyone’s. Neko Case’s second album Furnace Room Lullabye (credited to Neko Case & Her Boyfriends)
is her twangiest, but you can see the strict country vibe being outgrown. Just
around the edges, because this one is still very much rooted in the genre even
though Case’s pipes very clearly illustrate that she can do anything she fucking wants. Just watch
her propel some of those New Pornographers songs into pop majesty or look at
the a capella standout of her latest album, “Nearly Midnight, Honolulu.” Neko
Case pretty much embodies the term unfuckwithable. I’ve never met someone who
knew who she was and wasn’t a fan. Even though I don’t think Furnace Room Lullabye is the best
distillation of Case’s talents, I still think “Set Out Running” is one of the
most gut-punch great songs I’ve ever heard, and it’s the song that began my
long courtship with Case in the first place.
"Set Out Running"
No comments:
Post a Comment