From The Archives: Neko Case "Fox Confessor Brings The Flood"
I wrote this for the Allentown (Pa.) Morning Call:
It’s easy to see “Fox Confessor Brings the Flood” as an apex for Neko Case; if anything, it settles the debate about the best setting for her rafter-rattling voice. She ratchets down the twang, embraces tasteful echo effects and delivers lyrics that teeter between sense and sensibility. Most songs are instantly embraceable, and their arrangements are full of big-sky Americana and fleeting ’60s references. But they all have a chilly side: “Better times collide with now/The tears were warm, I feel them still/Their heat to vapor and disperse/And cloud our eyes with weary glaze,” she sings during the hymn-like “A Widow’s Toast.” It’s pretty, but slightly oblique. And in that way, much of “Fox Confessor” rewards close listening. The single “Maybe Sparrow,” for instance, has all the essential pieces of a windswept alt-country ballad, but it ultimately proves to be a subtle allegory. It’s probably about an impulsive girl, and when Case sings “you didn’t hear my warning,” the underlying message is somewhere between sympathy and dread. It has unique power, and just the right amount of distance.
5 months ago | Tags: Morning Call Neko Case
