Neko Case - Fox Confessor Brings the Flood

Ive never really had a thing for 'country'...

sure Johnny Cash was THE MAN and add a few others to the list.
I'd heard this several times and it piqued my interest.
Folk.....well maybe...country...? But one look at the cover, and I thought,
"here is someone who doesnt care for the conventions of 'country' -or cover art-how could it in any way reflect or give a clue as to what lie hidden inside?
This should be a cover for some eurotrash encentric goth band...(or close to)
well, maybe not. There is a sense of irony on the cover-and to the music-she is on her own path, for sure

And then the hand drawn cover is just the art-no artist/title/rca logo, very unconventional (at least mine didnt after it came out of the cardboard O-ring) Her label is with the logo of a B 52 bomber presumably represents a strong anti war statement
I think thats really cool and brave. Americans usually have to be hit over the head in consumerland-
IF the CD was put out by a major, im sure this act alone would have the top execs taking constant Valiums along with double scotches and having a nurse and defibrulator nearby.

If this were country-folk-it was some one with a sense of macabre humor.
And then I found the 2 CD version-and couldnt resist-
This became too good to pass up after hearing a haunting song on the FM
For me it took some getting used to. But that commanding voice takes you into another world-and leads you back again
I cant yet make objective comments since it is still so new.
FCBTF-what a strange title-and another risk
(On the back cover of BLACKLISTED an arrow points to the UPC/EAN code where she wryly notes "The numerals 6-8-6-4...etc really ruin the cover..." (as well as FBI and EXPLICIT! warnings embedded into cover art. )
Why dont the idiots pend the extra $1.00 pro-rated, per thousand and put STICKERS on the front wrapper?
But I still cant get over the cover and some of the inside drawings.
Good work, Neko! November 30, 2008

Wonderful!

Neko Case has a unique voice, both in terms of sound and writing and perspective. September 27, 2008

Incredible

Fox Confessor Brings the Flood is a wonderful example of a brilliant singer. Neko Case gets the nod as one of the most gifted American singers with a voice like silk and a delivery that is welcomely unusual. The album is painfully short, though, clocking in at just under 38 minutes. One has to wonder why. May 27, 2008

Fox Confessor Brings The Flood

As always, a couple of cuts I could live without. Overall, a very enjoyable CD, with "Hold On" being outstanding. Great new artist with room to grow. May 17, 2008

Short Emotional Arcs are Unsatisfying

Basically, her songs are very short on this album... most are two minutes. Or even less. She reaches the top of her range, and then her song is over. If the song was longer, like Roy Orbison did, her crescendo would make sense. But the songs simply are not developed or long enough. My attention flagged. The brevity of the songs were what took over, for me.
If only she could do a cover, I kept thinking, so I could really enjoy that voice at full tilt for more than ten seconds, or even three.
The album art also did not satisfy. There were many drawings, and admittedly I wanted to look at pictures of her instead. There was not a single photo of her inside the fat booklet. Pictures of billboards, stacks of tape reels, drawings of semi-trucks, instead.
Many people I'm sure would enjoy this album, but I did not care for it.

April 23, 2008

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