Neko Case has created a lot of compelling music in the last decade, both as an alt-country chanteuse and as a New Pornographer. However, my sentimental favorite is 2000’s Furnace Room Lullaby, the album that propelled her out of the Pacific Northwest and into international stardom.
Furnace Room Lullaby firmly established a sort of trademarked sound and songwriting style, if such a thing as a signature actually exists in multi-faceted Ms. Case’s toolkit. Definitely culling from conventional country’s structures and themes, yet unpredictable and adventurous. Fiery as Case’s personality and crimson hair, but often revealing a genuine vulnerability…. uncontrived heartbreak, loss, regret and yearning. It’s no wonder the record drew instant comparisons to the works of Loretta Lynn, for few have conveyed such a duality so believably, so skillfully.
The title track is the album’s last and perhaps best example of Case’s unbelievable voice at its searing best. A promotional video was produced for the song when it was included in the Cate Blanchett film, The Gift, but this black-and-white vehicle proves to be a more suitable companion for Case’s powerfully gothic lament. Other suitable companions — an overstuffed armchair, a dark room and a tumbler of bourbon — you’ll have to provide yourselves.
Please see also – Neko Case – I Wish I Was The Moon Live, By Steve Stav
