Tag: #nekocase

Posted on

Insta’ Gratification: Neko and the Flood from the ‘Gram

One of the best albums of the past 20 years celebrated an anniversary a few weeks back, beloved Neko Case’s flawless masterpiece, Fox Confessor Brings the Flood, which came out 15 years ago this month.  Easily her best album to date at the time (and honestly, probably still — though Middle Cyclone gives it a solid fight), it built upon the undeniable strengths of those preceding outings — the honky-tonk rambles of The Virginian and Furnace Room Lullaby and the more ethereal, stately blues of Blacklisted (which has possibly my favorite of her songs on it, the devastating beauty “I Wish I Was the Moon.”) Case showcases each of those elements on Confessor, as well as gospel and more straightforward indie songs, for an album that is perfect from top to bottom.

From the moment she got started Case’s one-of-a-kind voice was always the star — able to roar with unbridled ferocity or reduce you to tears with its kneebuckling versatility and beauty. What really came into focus on this album, though, was the strength of Case’s songwriting — songs about love, death, loneliness, and loss play out vividly across the album’s twelve tracks, although the lyrics are rarely as clear as the images they evoke. “Girl with the parking lot eyes” from opener “Margaret vs Pauline.” “My true love died in a dirty old pan of oil” from “Star Witness.” “Your body, limp, beneath my feet, your dusty eyes as cold as clay” from “Maybe Sparrow.”

You can clearly picture each of those things as she sings, yet the circumstances surrounding them aren’t always clear. The songs feel like flickering images from an unknown film where you get glimpses of what’s going on as the door to the theater opens and closes, but never see the entire movie. Images of birds, lions, wolves, and more pop in and out of view, never lingering long enough to tell you the whole story.

What holds it all together is what started it in the first place — that voice. That unbelievable, unparalleled voice. Case sounds amazing on this album, balancing the mystery of those images with the unquestionable emotion she packs into her performance. The anger that simmers beneath the line “everything’s SO easy for Pauline — for PauuuuLIIIIIIIIIIIINE!” at the end of the opener. The naked desperation in her plea, “pleaaaaaaaaaaaaase, don’t let him die” at the close of “Star Witness.” The unflinching confidence when she vows,”I don’t care if forever never comes cause I’m holding out for that teenage feeling.” The full-throated anguish over the titular bird in “Maybe Sparrow.” It hits you right in the heart, over and over again no matter how many times you listen, and it doesn’t matter whether you fully understand why — the voice tells you everything you need to know.

It’s again paired with her long-time duet partner Kelly Hogan’s on several of the best songs, reminding us that somehow even something as amazing as Case’s voice can become better. (Like adding bacon to almost anything or throwing a runny egg on top — are you ever sorry they showed up?) The two’s voices are so perfectly paired it’s intoxicating, an effect that’s only enhanced when you hear it in person. I remember seeing them perform this album at my favorite dive here in town and I legitimately was nearly knocked out on my feet — it was like listening to two angels serenade each other and you were just lulled into a dreamlike state of stupor, eyes closed and smiling. I don’t think I’ve ever heard a couple hundred people be so quiet.

It was an amazing show and it — like the album — remains one of my absolute favorites. Do yourself a favor and check it out, if for some reason you haven’t already.  I could pick any of the aforementioned songs to get you started, but I think my favorite is probably “At Last.” Short, sweet, and by the time the shimmering guitar comes in at the end you’re swooning — just lovely. Give it a listen here:

As I’m sure the eight of you are already aware, there’s been a surge in nonsense over on the ‘gram lately, large quantities of it courtesy of yours truly thanks to the dare issued to me recently by the one and only Oddge. Long story short she got tore up on seltzer and corn dogs one night and in the midst of that drunken frenzy she said, “yaknowwha — you’re wasting your time writing, Sunshine. You could post something EVERY SINGLE DAY and no one would notice.” She then whipped her half-filled White Claw at me across the room, kicked over my fern, and stormed out into the night to bark at dogs and passersby.

Tough love, to be sure, but far be it from me to ignore a challenge, so I’ve been doing my best to post something over there every day, offering the people what none of them asked for — more musical selections (and ramblings) from me! I’ve been having some fun with it, posting gems from the grocery store, birthday bashes, and relics from the past, as well as the usual new finds you’d expect to see here. It’s those latter ones I want to memorialize here, in part so I don’t forget them (still don’t love the disappearing stories) and in part so I can add them to the master playlist and have them come up on Sunshine Radio.  (Which I TOTALLY know more than just me uses — totally…)

I won’t rehash what I said over there (since I ALSO know all of you have already seen them before!), but if you feel like rewatching/listening, here’s your chance to dive back in! Until next time, my friends…

–BS

    • Watch the outstanding Netflix documentary on Latin American rock, Break it All. It showcases a ton of my faves, including the Argentine giants Soda Stereo:

    • Brit band Sports Team are definitely worth a listen, sounding like “a fun, hooky mix of Franz and the Strokes:”

    • Fellow Chicagoan Andrew Bird dropped a solid new album with his old Squirrel Nut Zippers pal Jimbo Mathus that’s a good listen:

    • Old-time faves The Band just released an expanded version of their Stage Fright album for its 50th anniversary and this one’s been a revived favorite:

    • Aussie act Amyl and the Sniffers released this ripshit rocker that’s been on repeat for much of the past few weeks:

    • Love em or hate em Kings of Leon are back with a new album and this is one of its better tracks:

    • Toronto titan Drake dropped a three song EP that has this solid collab with Lil Baby:

Posted on

(What’s the Story) With Oasis, Neko, and Andrew Bird?

It being a long weekend and all, I figured I’d face the wrath of sixteen angry eyeballs if I didn’t post something for the faithful to consider, so here I am with a couple items to keep you busy on your day off tomorrow. First comes a really solid article off Stereogum on the 20th anniversary of Oasis’ B-side compilation The Masterplan. The article does a good job reminding everyone just how huge this band was in the early 90s, based largely on their enormous first two albums and their totemic “Wonderwall” and “Champagne Supernova,” which formed the soundtrack for proms and unrequited love mixtapes worldwide. (A part of me still listens for that slight drone and hushed guitar part every time I go to the beach, so deeply has that latter one been imprinted on my brain.) Aside from those albums, though, the band was also throwing out multiple B-sides that were as good or better than the main tracks — that line from the article about Oasis’ B-sides being better than most other bands’ greatest hits was a real argument back in the day, and it’s tough to dismiss when you hear songs like “Acquiesce,” “Talk Tonight,” and the title track.

Oasis in that span really was living that Midas moment where everything they did was huge — gigantic songs, iconic videos (back when those still mattered), sold out tours and festival slots to carpets of people as far as the eye could see. (Their live album — a double album naturally, as one could not contain all the hits — was titled Familiar to Millions and whether they were referring to the band itself or every word of their songs, both were applicable.) I remember seeing them back home on the Morning Glory tour and it’s still one of the loudest shows I’ve ever been at — Noel had a literal wall of amps probably 20′ high behind him in addition to the normal arena speakers and despite being in the nosebleeds my ears rang for over a week. The Masterplan was intended to capture all the moments outside those anthemic albums and it does a decent enough job, but for one-time diehards like me who remembers driving all around town to tracking down the import singles it misses some old favorites. Thankfully we’ve got the internet, so I’ve kindly collected those additions for you below — there’s simple beauties like “Sad Song” and “D’yer Wanna be a Spaceman,” as well as rockers like “Round Are Way” and “Step Out” and the soaring Beatles-like close of “Whatever.” Put with the best stuff on Masterplan it again boggles the mind — these were all B-sides, songs they felt weren’t good enough to land on the official albums! — which reinforces this paragraph’s initial point: this band was firing on all cylinders and was untouchable at this point, and would remain so for several years. That they faded some after that was inevitable, whether from the fame, the infamous infighting, or the sheer laws of the universe (what goes up MUST come down, after all…) but for this span they gave us an incredible number of huge songs. So dust off your aviators and pop the collar on your Croc polo to show off your puka shell necklace and take a trip back to a simpler time here:

Next we’ve got the latest single from the lovely Neko Case’s latest album, Hell-On, which has been a hit or miss affair for me so far. Similar to her last album, the underwhelming (at least in impact, but not title) The Worse Things Get, the Harder I Fight, the Harder I Fight, the More I Love You, Case’s lyrics occasionally veer towards the overly ornate or unnecessarily cryptic, which prevents her characteristically catching melodies and otherworldly voice from connecting the way they used to. Which is unfortunate because there are some winning moments on the album — the soaring conclusion to “Halls of Sarah,” the imagery of the line “sorry dyed my mouth gumball blue” from the song of the aforementioned color’s name, the beautiful pairing of Case’s voice with Mark Lanegan’s gruff baritone on “Curse of the I-5 Corridor.” (One of the album’s best.) Far too often those moments are buried by the aforementioned frustrations, though, and the effect is lost.

It’s not clear what’s driving the change — Case has always come across as a fierce warrior of a woman with a spirit as indomitable as that incredible voice, though her lyrics were slightly tinged by the sadness of heartbreak. Perhaps it was that glimmer of vulnerability that made her songs resonate so strongly, that juxtaposition of minor weakness with the ferocity of everything else around it. Now that it’s gone, either eliminated thanks to personal happiness or consciously buried behind the armor of cryptic lyrics as a defense mechanism, the songs often fall flat. They sound lovely enough in most cases — honestly, Case could sing that you’ve got terminal cancer and your entire family just died in a horrific bus crash and you’d probably still swoon — but the impact isn’t there like before.

This is a woman who could destroy you with a single line — think of tracks like “Star Witness,” or “That Teenage Feeling” that had several daggers thrown straight at your heart. Or “Magpie to the Morning” and “The Needle has Landed.” Or “I Wish I was the Moon” and “The Pharoahs.” Or “Maybe Sparrow” and “Vengeance is Sleeping.” Those and so many others were undeniable because of that glimmer of weakness (even when glimpsed amidst vows to harm/murder the transgressor) because you could identify with that feeling. You knew what Case was referring to and had been there before. Contrast that with recent songs about “oracles of the maritimes,” songs about God (he’s a “lusty tire fire” among other things), or songs about the last lion of England (aka Albion, because even the location we’re singing about must be obscured). It’s just not clear what Case is getting at anymore. It’s a bit like a crossword puzzle — you can figure out what the words are, but their greater meaning is missing — and that emotional vulnerability (or just the ability to connect emotionally) is sorely missed. See what you think, though, with the aforementioned track about the English lion — if nothing else it sports a pretty little video, so there’s that:

We’ll close with the latest single from fellow Chicagoan Andrew Bird, an off album track where he contrasts another characteristically lush, languid melody with lyrics comparing our combative political landscape to the Spanish civil war (which hopefully is mere hyperbole and not a true harbinger of things to come — I’m too pretty to be shot at). It’s a pretty listen, whether you agree with the sentiments or not — give it a whirl here:

Posted on

A Quick One While He’s Away (Sleeping in His Tiny Bed in the Sun)

Thought I’d capitalize on a brief moment of respite in another double shift on puppy patrol where we thankfully seem to have shifted from constantly pissing and shitting on everything in the vicinity (including himself) to constantly biting everything in said space (including himself).  I’ll take the pain over the horrifying aromas at unholy hours — gladly — but wanted to highlight a couple finds before he starts needling me again and I lose a couple fingers and the ability to type.  First is the latest single from beloved songstress Neko Case whose upcoming album is her first since 2013’s disappointing The Worse Things Get, The Harder I Fight, The Harder I Fight, The More I Love You.  Case is a big favorite of mine with a voice that sounds like heaven should, so it was unfortunate that album was a letdown for me. (Her previous Middle Cyclone and its predecessor Fox Confessor Brings the Flood were far greater efforts in my book.)  We’ll see what the latest album brings — the cover art is a little odd, with Case wearing a wig of cigarettes…because…..ummmmmmmm…..why not? The song itself is a little off-kilter, too, with an eerie xylophone chiming in before the song snaps into place a couple minutes in. It’s a promising enough start, though — Case’s voice sounds fantastic and the lyrics are her characteristic blend of narrative and understated, unexpected impact, like a pillow with a brick inside (“God is not a contract or a guy… God is a lusty tire fire…;” “My voice is not the liquid waves… my voice is straight garroting wire;” “Nothing quite so poison as a promise”) Hopefully the rest of the album carries on the trend.  Check it out the title track in the meantime here:

Next is the lead single from former Talking Heads frontman David Byrne’s first solo outing in 14 years, Utopia. He’s spent the intervening time doing pretty much everything under the sun — dabbling in British electro, collaborating with St Vincent, playing all forms of world music, as well as the occasional apartment building — but nothing compares to his efforts in his former band. His latest is no different for me — even this song, which sounded so energetic and cool on Colbert (almost like classic Heads) sounds neutered in the studio. It’s too bad because based on this clip I had the track stuck in my head for half the day after the performance, so was hoping for something more. Save yourself the letdown and just watch the below:

We’ll close with the second single from the ever-restless Courts’ upcoming album, which shows the band shifting sounds yet again (they’re trying to compress Byrne’s 14+ years of experimenting into 14 months it seems), this time morphing into a straight up funk band. And as preposterous as that sounds…it kind of works! These guys can be exasperating in their almost willful defiance of giving people what they want, but if it leads to winners like this I’ll take a little more calculated rebellion. See what you think here: