Neko Case has a new album coming out in a month and a half. I have yet to find it on any BitTorrent site, and the anticipation is fucking killing me.
Fox Confessor Brings the Flood is the title of her new work, and is scheduled for a March 7 release from Anti-Records. The 12-track studio effort follows up 2004’s live release, The Tigers Have Spoken, which was fantastic, as have been all her other releases. Seriously, it doesn’t get much better in alt.country… fuck, it doesn’t get better in music period than Neko Case. Pretty, talented, witty… I’m gonna stop before my wife reads this and kicks my ass.
Even though I’m sure she feels the same way.
Press release blah-blah-blahs:
“Collaborating with the likes of The Band’s Garth Hudson, Calexico’s Joey Burns and John Covertino, and Giant Sand’s Howe Gelb, Neko displays a newfound love of studio artistry on songs like “Dirty Knife,” with its dark orchestral sweep, and the Ennio Morricone meets Brenda Lee classicism of “Star Witness.” Most notably, Neko has for the first time recorded songs like “Hold On Hold On” that harken back to the classic three-minute pop of The Mamas and the Papas and The Byrds, offering an entry point for a whole new audienceinto the lush, arcane universe of Neko Case.”
Track listing:
Margaret vs. Pauline
Star Witness
Hold On, Hold On
A Widow’s Toast
That Teenage Feeling
Fox Confessor Brings the Flood
John Saw That Number
Dirty Knife
Lion’s Jaws
Maybe Sparrow
At Last
The Needle Has Landed
The Calexico mention reminded me that I have a bootleg of Ms. Case performing with Calexico as her backing band at the Filmore in San Francisco. It was recorded July 16, 2004, but does feature one of the tracks off her new album. Being as how Anti- doesn’t have any mp3s up for preview yet, it’s the best you’ll be able to do for a sneak peek for a while. Enjoy.
Neko Case w/ Calexico – “Maybe Sparrow” (live)
I found the album the other day online. It’s an instant classic … perfect from start to finish and a real, honest-to-goodness *album*. Email me if you want it; the price is a review on your blog as soon as you’re done listening to it properly.
There is actually a download of “Star Witness” on the Anti Site underneath the EPK downloads of the page for the album. It’s also appeared on two covermount CDs with magazines this month, and is a pretty good indication of how wonderful the whole album is.
Many thanks, Steve.