Neko Case & Her Boyfriends includes: Neko Case (vocals, tambourine); Ron Sexsmith (vocals, acoustic guitar); Travis Good (electric, tenor, baritone, & 8-string guitars, mandolin, fiddle); Evan Johns (electric & steel guitars); Brian Connelly (electric & baritone guitars); Don Kerr (tenor guitar, cello, drums); Joel Trueblood (drums); Kelly Hogan (background vocals).
Principally recorded at Miller Block, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada in January 1999 & March 1999.
Personnel: Neko Case (vocals, tambourine); Ron Sexsmith (vocals, acoustic guitar); Kelly Hogan (vocals, background vocals); Mike Grier, Carl Newman (vocals); Evan Johns & His H-Bombs (guitar, electric guitar, steel guitar); Brian Connelly (guitar, electric guitar, baritone guitar); Don Kerr (guitar, snare drum); Dallas Good (guitar); Travis Good (acoustic guitar, electric guitar, 8-string guitar, tenor guitar, baritone guitar, mandolin, fiddle, upright bass); Darryl Neudorf (acoustic guitar); John Ramberg (electric guitar, baritone guitar, background vocals); Evan Johns (electric guitar); Kevin Kane (12-string guitar); Bob Egan (lap steel guitar, National guitar); Linda McRae (accordion); Ford Pier (piano, organ); Joel Trueblood (drums, snare drum).
Audio Mixers: Darryl Neudorf; Ryen Froggatt.
Recording information: Gas Station, Toronto, Ontario, Canada (11/1998-08/1999); Miller Block, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada (11/1998-08/1999); The Gas Station, Toronto, Ontario, Canada (11/1998-08/1999); UberStudio, Chicago, IL (11/1998-08/1999); Uberstudios, Chicago, IL (11/1998-08/1999).
Photographers: Jannie McInnes; Neko Case; Nova Devonie; Jason Zumpano.
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.
It would be easy to call Neko Case alt-country's answer to k.d. lang; after all, they're both from Canada, both came into country music through artier pursuits, and both blend trad-style twang with a modernist lyrical perspective. But Case also has a couple more important things in common with lang -- she has a superb voice that's as big as all outdoors, and there's nothing at all ironic about her love for the luxurious sadness of classic country & western. Case fronts a dramatically revamped line-up of Boyfriends on her second solo album, Furnace Room Lullaby, and it's even stronger and more impressive than her fine debut set, The Virginian. Case co-wrote all of the album's 12 songs, and the material strikes a more deeply personal note this time out, from the busted romance of "Set Out Running" and "We've Never Met" to the road-weary and unsentimental nostalgia of "Thrice All American" and "South Tacoma Way" (not many artists could put a lump in your throat at the notion of a Wal-Mart replacing the old downtown, but Case does it here). Case's vocals are superb from front to back, as smooth and fiery as good brandy, and her revolving circle of musicians (including Ron Sexsmith and Kelly Hogan on backing vocals) are subtle and beautifully evocative, balancing sorrow and good times with an easy grace. Dozens of rock artists have wrung cheap laughs from the sound and feel of classic country, but Neko Case understands the honest emotions and working-class poetry Loretta Lynn and Dolly Parton brought to their best music, and if her own take on such things is a bit different, Furnace Room Lullaby makes clear how deeply she cares for this music, and confirms her status as one of alt-country's strongest artists. ~ Mark Deming
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. minimize