Neko Case - Fox Confessor Brings the Flood

Genre alt-country Publisher Anti- External Links Official Neko Case Website Official Anti- Website

There's always such a mad rush in entertainment publications to get write-ups of the latest works of art up as fast as possible. I'm guilty of this desire myself as an Editor here at Static. You hate the feeling of maybe being the last or next to last publication to write about an artist, whether it be due to anything you could say already having been said (not reading other publications works best for that issue) or because everyone interested in reading about the work has read everything that came before you and is no longer interested in what others have to say.

But we're not the biggest boys on the block and we don't get albums as far in advance as some do, and even some bigger dogs have to wait as long as we do these days (in fact, I received word recently that the mailing of advances for the new Red Hot Chili Peppers album are being approved by a committee...that's almost funny).

So, as much as I like to jump on the bandwagon and suck on the fresh marrow as much as the next devilish writer, sometimes albums need to go through a period of gestation. Art is not always meant to be heard, summarized and discarded. You oftentimes have to live with something for weeks, months, years on end before it finally unveils its magic to you. Hell, I keep the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds, Neutral Milk Hotel's In the Aeroplane Over the Sea, and Sufjan Stevens' Illinois around simply for this reason. The hope is that one day, maybe when I'm very old or on my death bed perhaps, that I'll grasp the power and beauty that so many others find in these three works. Being a sarcastic, borderline caustic curmudgeon at 34 I'm not willing to bet on that happening, but you never do know.

So, even though Neko Case is one of my absolutely favorite artists in the world and even though I've been dying to hear this album that she's discussed frequently over the past couple of years, Fox Confessor Brings the Flood didn't knock my socks off the first couple of listens through and I decided to put it aside, placing it with those albums that don't come out for another month or two or three, what I call my "patience pile."

But then "Star Witness," probably the only track on the album that could be called typical of Neko Case, started getting played here and there with more and more frequency, and then another track found its way onto internet and satellite radio rotation and the album's stunning artwork peeked out at me, catching the corner of my eye, begging me to open and explore its beauty and to put the CD in for another listen.

This morning as I ponder Case's latest work is overcast, but warmer than it's been in Chicago since last fall...the breeze coming in through the screen I sit in front of gentle and effervescent. Much like Fox Confessor, quite honestly. This is not the Case of Blacklisted or Furnace Room Lullaby or The Virginian. Nope. Case has pushed herself further and refined an already magnificent voice closer to perfection. Whereas Case used to bowl you over with the unwieldy power of her dauntingly beautiful pipes, she finds heretofore untapped nuance, hitting notes with grace and with a sense of dignity reflecting both maturity and creative fulfillment.

Not every piece of art grows deeper roots the more reflection is paid to it, but we shouldn't always be so quick to summarily dismiss. Moods change, temperaments change, opinions can change, too. As humans we have untapped ability to adapt and change through time. What you believed in as a teenager may not be what you believe in as an adult. So do yourself a favor and dig out that dusty copy of whatever album you haven't quite figured out yet and give it a spin. Maybe it'll work its claws into you. Maybe not. You can always come back to it later for another try.