Neko Case - Blacklisted

Imagine the dark Americana evoked by Nick Cave, but couched in the persona of a female country singer with an amazing voice that projects without distortion or crackle, like a bell ringing in an empty sky. Things That Scare Me is a tense, semi-paranoid Appalachian meditation. ’same birds that followed me to school when I was young, were they tryin’ to tell me somethin’, were they tellin’ me to run?’ Deep Red Bells is a vocal exercise in American Gothic, evoking what seems to be a victim of a random murder. “A handprint on the driver’s side… It looks a lot like engine oil and tastes like being poor and small and popsicles in summer,” she says. “Where does this mean world cast its cold eye? Who’s left to suffer alone without you? Does your soul cast about lke an old paper bag, past empty lives and early graves?” Perhaps the bloody handprint was shaped like a bell. I don’t need to say more, you will buy it for these two cuts alone.

Author: listener | Category: Music Reviews | June 2007