More experimental than The Virginian, Neko Case continues to make use of her Canadian friends in the pursuit of a kickass record.

 Getting right into it, Mood To Burn Bridges is a classic country tune, shifting pace like truck gears. It starts off with quick, flirty guitar, then slumps into a slow dance. Porchlight is a blue one and Ron Sexsmith's signature guitar work is obvious. Then a shuffle, sultry and erotic, in No Need to Cry.

 You get the point. Rather than just jump yodelling on to the old-time country bandwagon, Neko does it all: blues, jazz, twang and pop, kind of like the old divas used to before they all turned into heavily orchestrated lameoids like Celine Dion and such. Whip the Blanket rocks, serving as a hit of speed.

 As far as general tone, there's a struggling vulnerability that comes across from the beaten-down cover art - a Neko Polaroid. She's a party animal, like the best musicians, as we know from real experience, and she brings across the sometime sadness of that, particularly on songs where she begs for tenderness, like the bleeding Twist the Knife and We've Never Met.

 The Pogues come to mind a couple of times, too. The opener, for example, and a song about her home town called Thrice All American, which features former Spirit of the Wester Linda McRae on accordion. She conveys the emptiness of where she's from with pity, and her work north of the border seems like an obvious choice.

 Good luck for us. Keep birthing albums up here and we might make you a national hero yet, Neko.

Saturday, February 12, 2000

Strong Case for Neko