Twittergem: Neko Case

@NekoCase & @NikkiSixx What are you trying to tell me? pic.twitter.com/7Tv8aMsMgi

— Alexander Lindbäck (@AlexLindback) October 16, 2013

Fran Healy has been busy

It's been two years since the last Travis album; seven, if you measure it since the last one that people noticed. This has created a Travis-like hole in Britain's cultural life.

Holes aren't, to be honest, all that bad. And this is a hole that you really don't mind.

Nevertheless, Fran Healy has decided to try and plug that hole with a solo record. (Yes, it seems that Travis consisted of more than one person.)

There's an excited press release:

Artists such as Coldplay, Noel Gallagher, The Doves and Gomez have cited Healy's sophisticated and atmospheric arrangements as a major influence on their own sound.

Coldplay... well, yes, Coldplay you could believe.

Recorded in Berlin, New York and Vermont, the 10 tracks that make up [the album] are as exceptionally literate as they are emotionally challenging.

Yes. I suspect they will be.

As an idea of how "exceptionally literate" they are, the album is being called Wreckorder. Which is the clumsy sort-of pun that you'd expect from a bunch of 15 year-olds hoping to get a mention in Kerrang, not a "literate" album from a man you're claiming is - oh yes - "a quintessential pop songwriter".

Can you make the album seem even more depressingly assembled-from-mail-order-parts?

features Paul McCartney on bass

That would do it.

The end result is the sound of a songwriter who embodied the spirit of Britpop and continues to artistically evolve.

If he's artistically evolved, why would you need to mention that he embodied the spirit of a music scene that was looking dated fifteen years ago. When humans developed opposable thumbs, I'm pretty certain they dropped banging on about 'now walking on two legs' from their press releases.

Not that Healy did embody Britpop anyway - even Wikipedia just lobs Travis in at the end of a "second wave", which is a polite way of saying 'turned up after closing time in the hope of getting to cop off with people who haven't realised the party is over'.

I'm just wondering, though: could this press release make Healy sound any more like a caricature of himself?

Healy is currently on a North American tour with Keane.

Yes. That would do it.

There is, though, one phrase that will bruise your heart:

The collection of songs includes the Neko Case duet "Sing Me To Sleep" which bounces over warm melodies and a syncopated drum loop.

Neko Case has no business appearing on a song which will be described as "syncopated". Can a drum loop actually be syncopated? Isn't a loop by its very nature the opposite of syncopation?

Neko Case and Sky Larkin: For your viewing pleasures

Two delights coming up on Fabchannel on Sunday (and then on demand, afterwards): Neko Case and Sky Larkin.

Neko Case weekend: Knock Loud

Not, perhaps, the sort of footage you'd get from a professional crew at Koko in London, but worth three minutes of your time, nevertheless:



[Part of Neko Case weekend]

Neko Case weekend: Deep Red Bells

Not "balls", however much it might amuse to misread for comic effect. This performance was captured at Suede, in Park City, Utah, June 17th 2006:



[Part of Neko Case weekend]

Neko Case weekend: Favourite

More Neko Case live, this time recorded at Solana Beach on February 18th, 2007:



[Part of Neko Case weekend]

Neko Case weekend: Mood To Burn Bridges

The place is the Crocodile Cafe; it's August 2000, and Neko Case And Her Boyfriends are in a Mood To Burn Bridges:



[Part of Neko Case weekend]

Neko Case weekend: Middle Cyclone

Due out on the third of the third:



[Part of Neko Case weekend]

Neko Case weekend: Things That Scare Me

Recorded live at 2007's Calgary Folk Festival, Neko Case does The Things That Scare Me, which is the opposite of The Sound Of Music's My Favourite Things:



[Part of Neko Case weekend]

Embed and Breakfast man: Neko Case

With a new album and charity-powered free download all over the place, what better time for a quick trawl through the marvelous Neko Case's solo work?

Case really battered her way into people's minds through her work with the New Pornographers - which was kind of the wrong way round, as the band was meant to be a side project and not a flagship. Still, it did allow people to discover her solo work - both with her Boyfriends backing team, and without. This weekend, we'll just focus on the solo stuff.

Let's start with The Boyfriends in the room. This is Furnace Room Lullaby, which turned up - according to the caption, anyway - on the soundtrack of psychic-crime-busting schlocker The Gift:

More on Neko Case

Neko Case on No Rock
Neko Case official site
Neko Case MySpace
Neko Case on iLike
Neko Case on Wikipedia

Buy Neko Case

The Tigers Have Spoken
Fox Confessor Brings The Flood
Blacklisted

Download Neko Case

The Tigers Have Spoken mp3s
Fox Confessor Brings The Flood mp3s
Furnace Room Lullabys mp3s

More videos over the weekend

Things That Scare Me live in Calgary
Middle Cyclone
Favourite live in California
Deep Red Bells live in Park City, Utah
Knock Loud live in London

Downloadable: Neko Case - and charity

This one's not just good for you, your iPod and your ears - not only are AntiLabel bringing you People Got A Lotta Nerve in downloadable mp3 glory, but every time a blog posts the link, they're going to give five dollars to Best Friends Animal Society. Which is, perhaps, goodpayola.

More tour pain

Neko Case has hobbled off the New Pornographers tour after fracturing her ankle.

She'd tried to carry on, dragging her broken bones through two gigs, explained the band in a statement:

"[She] was really trying to be a trooper and stayed on as long as was possible through Richmond and Athens, but it has gotten to the point where she must return home.

"She's very upset about having to leave, it's been super fun having her on stage and around the bus. We hope that you understand Nashville, St. Louis, Chicago, Madison and Cleveland. The rest of us will just have to play that much harder to put on the best show possible."

We're sure the towns will be understanding about the non-appearance of Case, although they might be less forgiving on the use of the phrase "super fun".

Of hamsters and metre: Neko Case on poetry

Neko Case has contributed to the current number of Poetry magazine, although not without some misgivings:

About twenty minutes after sending my e-mail of acceptance I paused to triumphantly sharpen my claws on the bookcase when I noticed the blazing, neon writing on the wall. It said: YOU'VE NEVER EVEN PASSED ENGLISH 101 AND EVERYONE WHO READS THIS MAGAZINE WILL KNOW IT.

We're sure there's room for a sister article in Psychology magazine.

Pornographers' art refreshed

Neko Case is re-releasing her most recent three albums, including Fox Confessor Brings The Flood, which only originally emerged last year and seems a little early to be getting the shake-down. Fox comes in a new package, which includes a whole extra disc of... you know, the usual 'buy this record all over again' stuff.

Together at last! Dogs and corsets!

This isn't an entirely gratuitous photo of Neko Case in a vintage 50s bustier. It's here because it's being auctioned on eBay, with ten per cent of the sale price going to help rescue greyhounds. Both the bustier and, we understand, a signed version of the picture itself.

Pornography on the streets of London

We're not sure that three dates in London quite constitutes a UK tour, but we're not going to complain about The New Pornographers playing dates. These dates, to be precise:

18 June - Bar Acadamy
19 - Borderline
20 - 93 Feet East

This is to be a Neko Case-less visit, we should say, but none the worse for that.

A CASE FOR YOUR IPOD: I fell in love with Neko Case one night when, at a New Pornographers show, she settled a couple of song-requesting hecklers with the admonishment, "Why don't you shut up, you hipster indie snobs!" - 3hive does Neko Case...

music neko_case downloads mp3

SEX AND INDIEROCK TOGETHER - UNLIKELY THOUGH IT MIGHT SOUND - AT LAST: Playboy are running a poll - oh, do settle down - to find the sexiest woman in indie rock. Amongst the runners are bsn favourites Neko Case and Sarah Nixey. We're not expecting Playgirl to ask us to choose between Noel and Chris Martin any time soon.

Neko Case: Also a review

More Morag, More Manchester:
This much we know: neko is beautiful and has a voice somewhere near the tingly side of patsy cline if she had become a hollering punk. There's not a lot to add really; The Voice needs capital letters and stardust and garlands; she really does sound great, whetehr she's singing one of her haunted and haunting orignials or reclaiming an old time country tune.

It's ashame the show let her down. The main reason for this was the venue. Night and day sucks. Its a great hangout at lunchtime or when there's not many punters in, but when its jammed packed the fact it's long and narrow with shitty acoustics starts to matter. Factor in the lack of air con which means most of neko's on stage banter is reduced to variations on 'jeez its hot' and well.... its never going to be the best show ever.

The band had their moments; it is always fabulous to see Jon rauhause; tonight he played steel guitar and banjo and was, at times, awesome. There was also a guy on stand up bass which worked really well on some songs but got a tad boring after a while. A lot of songs were from the last two albums, plus some traditional numbers sara told me all americans learn in school. And there were moments of real beauty when the gorgeousness of The Voice and the music carried me away. but still a nagging doubt.

it was good, but it should have been brilliant.

fyi: she was wearing dark blue jeans, nicely fitted, a navy blue fitted t-shirt with a silver design on it (even when I was right at the front i couldnt quite figure out what it was) and some very nice blue trainers. and her hair looked less red than i remembered.

The case is answered

Becky Bamboo goes to see Neko Case at Bimbos:
the openers were jim and jennie and the pinetops and boy howdy were they ever cool. just hard and fast bluegrass with all sorts of twang. great, great stuff. if I hadn't been broker than a former dotcom executive, I would've bought everything they had for sale.

ms. neko came out soon after (quickest turnaround at bimbos I've seen) and proceeded to hush the room. man, that voice is just so... I don't know. it's so unique and clear and powerful as heck. she was backed by only two boyfriends, jon rauhause on table (?) steel (I don't know the official name for it - morag?), slide, guitar, etc. and some other old guy with a beard on stand up bass, who played the tambourine with his left foot. they upped the reverb on the mic, which gave her recent songs a spookiness that they deserve. the highlight was 'set out running' which just blew off the roof.

'running out of fools' would've been another, except a very drunk couple decided they were going to push their way up behind me, spill their drinks on my feet, and sing very loudly, despite not knowing either the words or the tune. I was not amused. neko told us all of her christmas shopping trip to good vibrations (a female friendly sex shop) with her friend the wildlife gynocologist. there was also talk about sexual fantasies involving nuns and her ass mirror. you know, I've heard from more than one person that she's an absolute bitch in person. I try to avoid thinking about that because I find her so funny and personable on stage. I prefer my idols to stay on their pedestals.